02.09.2026 15:30
After two commercial ships collided off the coast of Silivri, contact was lost with 10 personnel on the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu. The owner of the sunken ship claimed that the other ship may have left the area after the collision and that authorities were not notified for 32 minutes. The ship owner reacted with the words, 'I can understand a mistake, I can also understand an accident, but I cannot understand leaving. That is betrayal.'
In the accident that occurred 18 miles south of Istanbul Silivri, the Turkish-flagged 90-meter commercial vessel named Alsu, traveling from Kocaeli to Aliağa, collided with the commercial vessel named Tuğberk İmamoğlu, which was heading from İskenderun Port to Karadeniz Ereğli. Following the accident, it was reported that contact was lost with the 10 personnel on board the vessel Tuğberk İmamoğlu, while search and rescue operations at sea by the General Directorate of Coastal Safety and the Coast Guard Command teams continue.
OWNER OF THE SUNKEN SHIP MAKES SEVERE ALLEGATIONS
Tahsin Doğruyol, the owner of the ship that sank off the coast of Istanbul Silivri, described the background of the terrifying moments to A Haber. Doğruyol stated that even though his own captain repeatedly warned the colliding ship, the accident still occurred, and he strongly reacted to the events, emphasizing that the other side did not call for help for 32 minutes and left the scene.
"OUR CAPTAIN WARNED, SAYING 'YOU ARE COMING AT ME'"
The ship owner, Tahsin Doğruyol, stating that the accident occurred around 03:10 in the morning and that he learned about the incident around 05:00 from a phone call from his agent, expressed that the event was foreseeable. Pointing out that both ships had complete radar and lighting systems, Doğruyol stated that his captain noticed the danger and warned the other side multiple times. Doğruyol conveyed the extent of the danger with these words: "I have my radar, and he has his radar too. Moreover, my captain is calling him, saying 'You are coming at me.' After that, he can't turn, and he calls again."
"THE SHARP BOW PIERCED THE SHIP, THIS WATER INFLOW CAPSIZED IT"
Sharing his assessments on the nature of the collision and the magnitude of the disaster, Doğruyol said they predict that the other ship struck the side of their vessel with its sharpened bow. Doğruyol described the accident moment, saying, "We think the front of the other ship hit the side of our vessel. Since it is sharp there, it pierced and water entered. There is no damage to the other ship. If the metal had been damaged, the ship wouldn't have sunk this fast. We think it was this water inflow that capsized the ship; we can't think of anything else." He also added that initially, the other side declared the ship was empty, but later they learned there were 3,000 tons of cargo on board.
"BETRAYAL" ACCUSATION
Protesting the delay in response after the incident, the ship owner emphasized that the situation was only learned thanks to the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on their own ship. Stating that the colliding ship informed VTS (Vessel Traffic Services) only after 32 minutes, Doğruyol reacted to the waiting instead of calling for help and leaving the scene with these words:
"The sad part is no one is informed, for over 30 minutes... Look, I can understand this mistake. I can understand the accident, I can understand the trouble. Everything is for people. But I cannot understand leaving. That is betrayal. Frankly, I cannot understand that."
IDENTITIES OF THE 10 CREW MEMBERS REVEALED
Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts for the missing personnel on the sunken commercial vessel named "Tuğberk İmamoğlu" continue uninterrupted. While search activities are ongoing, the identity information and duty list of the 10 crew members who were on duty on the ship and with whom contact could not be established have been shared.
According to the information obtained, the names and duties of the personnel being searched for on the sunken ship are as follows:
Yaşar Kayhan (Captain), Rahmi Temel (First Officer), Atakan Alagöz (Third Officer), Aydın Demirci (Chief Engineer), Gencer Aydın (Second Engineer), Eyüp Enes Cesur (Oiler), Nidai Duman (Deck Bosun), Nacican Keskin (Able Seaman), Onuralp Demir (Seaman), Abdülbaki Mirzaoğlu (Cook)
Search and rescue efforts in the region, carried out with the participation of the Coast Guard and General Directorate of Coastal Safety teams, are being meticulously continued.
RADAR IMAGES EMERGED
Additionally, while an investigation has been initiated regarding the accident, the radar images obtained from the ship tracking system show the routes and movements of the two ships before the accident. In the images, the ship named Alsu can be seen maneuvering before the accident, and the moments when the two ships were moving towards each other are also reflected in the radar traces.