A court in Turkey arrested the first and third captains of the Alsu tanker after a collision with a bulk carrier

ISTANBUL, September 4 – RIA Novosti. A court in Turkey ordered the arrest of the first and third captains of the tanker Alsu in connection with the ship's collision with a bulk carrier that sank with 10 crew members, the Türkiye newspaper reported on Friday night.

Experts have established that the crew of the Alsu tanker was at fault in the collision with the bulk carrier; presumably, the ship was operated by an inexperienced third captain, media previously reported. The Hürriyet newspaper noted that according to the conclusion of experts, captain Ahmet Erarslan was sleeping in his cabin at the time of the disaster, and there was no mate on the bridge.

“The first and third captains of the Alsu tanker were arrested, four more crew members were released on their own recognizance,” the newspaper reported.

According to her, the results of tests of crew members for intoxication are not yet ready.

The experts' report found "a two-pronged lack of discipline on the bridge", "a complete failure of shift standards" and a "loss of situational awareness".

The bulk carrier Tuğberk İmamoğlu, carrying 4.2 thousand tons of steel coils, sank on Wednesday in the Sea of ​​Marmara in Turkey at a depth of 950 meters after a collision with the tanker Alsu with almost 3 thousand tons of motor oil. All 10 missing crew members of the cargo ship are Turkish, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Wednesday.

The owner of the cargo ship hinted in comments to local TV that the crew of the tanker could have fled the scene of the collision without providing assistance to the drowning sailors.