9 APRIL 2018 - SHIPS DECK LOG

 SUN ! no wind, clear skies....













Saturday was a bad day in Turkey, a Maltese-flagged 74,269 DWT bulk carrier named Vitaspirit failed her steering gear  while transiting Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait. 

The South-bound ship was approaching the Second bridge across the Bosphorus, when it veered out of control, it missed the bridge, but ran over and seriously damaged the 19th Century Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Mansion on the shore, which is used to host weddings and concerts.

 The mansion’s roof and upper floors collapsed and the video (below) shows the basement slumping into the water, but,   no one was reported to be injured in the collision.
After losing its steering gear, the bulk carrier’s anchor was dropped in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the ship, it however, snagged electic  power cables with its anchor. The ship suffered only minor damage, and was assisted by three tugs and SAR vessels, to be backed out from under the bridge while traffic on the strait was briefly stopped in both directions.

The video below shows the inside of the mansion.