Bosphorus reopens after vessel crash
The Bosphorus, the world's second busiest shipping channel, has reopened after a cargo ship collided with a historic waterside mansion. Some say the incident highlights the city's need for a new waterway.
Coast guard steers towards a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus after a tanker accident on April 7, 2018. A cargo vessel crossing through the Bosphorus crashed into a historic waterside mansion due to a technical fault, causing significant damage.
Tourists taking pictures of the Bosphorus captured dramatic scenes on Saturday as a cargo vessel collided into an 18th-century villa. The accident forced all commercial traffic in the strait to be suspended.
More than fifty thousand vessels sail through the Bosphorus Strait each year. Saturday's accident occurred in the narrowest and deepest part.
But Turkey's now in the process of building a second commercial waterway called the Istanbul Canal. It's scheduled to open in 2023.
Authorities say the main objective of the new canal is to reduce risks posed by ships carrying dangerous materials, as they pass through the Bosphorus.
Though, for now, the focus will be on how the vessel's engine failed and how a similar accident can be avoided, the significance of a second strait remains.
TRT World’s Joseph Hayat reports from Istanbul.
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