Search and rescue efforts continue for the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship, which sank after colliding with the commercial ship Alsu off the coast of Silivri in the Sea of Marmara.
While relevant institutions, especially the Coast Guard, Coastal Police, Navy, AFAD and Red Crescent, participate in the work, 18 floating elements, 5 helicopters, two unmanned aerial vehicles, an aircraft and a Navy ship conducting underwater searches are taking part.
On the 3rd day of the work, the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) reported that the location of the sinking ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu was determined.
In the statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was reported that the location of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu was determined by the TCG Akın rescue and backup ship from the Naval Forces.
The statements of the first captain of the ship named ALSU, Ahmet Erarslan, and the third captain, Murat Evciman, who were arrested within the scope of the investigation, were revealed.
In his statement, Ahmet Erarslan, the first captain of the ALSU ship, stated that he joined the Alsu ship about a month ago and was resting at the time of the accident.
"Our third captain, Murat Evciman, was on duty at the time of the accident. In other words, Murat Evciman was responsible for the navigation and management of the ship during this time period." Testifying by saying, Erarslan stated that the ship was unloaded at the time of the incident and that he heard a leaning sound.
Erarslan described the moment of the accident as follows:
"When I got up, I heard our deck leader, Süleyman Eker, shouting, 'We collided, we collided.' So I immediately went up. When I got up to the bridge, 2nd captain Barış Hazar and Murat Evciman were there. When I asked what happened, they said, 'We collided.' When I went up to the bridge, I saw the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu on the starboard stern port, its lights on.
The distance between us was around 300 meters. While I was making a left turn with the ship I was on, I saw the lights of the ship for about 2-3 minutes. "Nearing the end of the turn, I saw that the lights of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu had completely disappeared."
“DISPARED FROM RADAR WITHIN 1-2 MINUTES”
Thereupon, Erarslan added that he looked at the location of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu on the radar and that the ship disappeared in about 1-2 minutes and that it was not visible on the radar. "I immediately contacted Sector Marmara and reported the situation." he said.
Stating that there was no lookout on the ship at the time of the accident and that having a lookout was up to the captain's initiative, Erarslan said, "It is necessary to have a lookout in areas with heavy traffic. We did not hit the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship, the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu hit our ship." he said.
Erarslan, who claimed that the accident occurred because the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu had given them the "Take to port" warning and their own ship had taken them to the port, but the other ship had taken them to starboard instead of port, said, "I do not accept the findings made about me in the expert report. I have no fault in the incident." he said.
Erarslan continued as follows:
"If our ship had hit the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship severely, greater damage would have occurred to the ship we were on. The ship we were on felt the accident as a mooring. The AIS device on our ship was actively working. The AIS device of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu was off. Because we could not see the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu from the AIS. We could only follow the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu on the radar. The accident happened. "It happened because Tuğberk İmamoğlu hit our ship."
In his statement to the judge, 3rd Captain Murat Evciman stated that he joined the ship about a month ago and that he had 7 months of experience in the profession.
"I did not use anything that would affect my willpower during the shift. When the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu called on the radio saying 'Take it to the pier', I saw this ship when I looked on the radar. When I looked with the naked eye, I did not see the light of this ship." Defending himself by saying, Evciman added that the AIS of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu was not visible on the ECDIS screen.
Evciman also described the moment of the incident as follows:
"When I looked at the radar screen, I saw the projection of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship. I moved the ship I was on to the port about 5 degrees. After about 2-3 minutes, I heard the voice 'Take it to the port' again on the radio. Thereupon, I sharply moved the ship I was on to the port approximately 9 degrees. In this way, the ship I was on remained on the right side of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship. As of this position, there is a distance of approximately 700-800 meters between us and the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship. "After about 1-2 minutes, the distance between us decreased to 500 meters. The Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship suddenly took its flag and turned its course towards me."
Stating that he thought the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu was going to make a maneuver and called out on the radio, "Tuğberk İmamoğlu, you are coming towards me, don't come", Evciman said, "After calling, I changed the course of the ship I was on towards the port as the distance between us decreased. Meanwhile, the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship continued to starboard and continued to come towards me." he said.
Evciman, who added that the opposite ship hit the starboard bow and shoulders of their ship from the port bow and shoulder, said, "I immediately went down a few steps from the upper floor of the bridge and shouted 'There was a collision'. Then I immediately came to the bridge. When I came to the bridge, I saw the lights of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship." he said.
Evciman claimed that the accident was caused by the other ship turning its course towards them.
Evciman also said that he did not accept the findings made about him in the expert report and continued as follows:
"I have no fault in the incident. Sector Marmara did not give me a warning because the AIS of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship was not visible before the collision. The accident occurred because the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship hit the ship I was on. I am very sorry that such an incident occurred."
