Two commercial vessels have collided off the coast of Silivri in the Sea of Marmara, with ten crew members currently unaccounted for, the Istanbul Governorate has announced.
According to the governorate's statement, the Turkish-flagged commercial vessel Alsu, en route from Kocaeli to Aliaga, collided with the Turkish-flagged commercial vessel Tugberk Imamoglu, travelling from Iskenderun Port to Karadeniz Eregli, approximately 18 nautical miles south of Silivri at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) on Wednesday morning.
A large number of maritime units and a Coast Guard helicopter from the Directorate General of Coastal Safety and the Coast Guard Marmara and Straits Command were dispatched to the scene.
"Initial assessments by the units arriving in the area indicate no visible damage to the vessel named Alsu," the governorate stated. "However, no contact can currently be established with the commercial vessel Tugberk Imamoglu or its ten crew members, and search and rescue operations by units in the region are ongoing."
