On the FESCO-operated container ship Amnah, a loading mishap led to the vessel tipping over, prompting fifteen crew members to abandon ship. Emergency services managed to save ten of the crew, while another five swam to shore independently as the ship dramatically listed and eventually settled on its port side, spilling cargo containers into the sea. One crew member suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
This incident unfolded at approximately 4:00 am local time on December 23rd, while the Comoros-registered vessel was being loaded at the Ambarli-Marport terminal in Istanbul. Local reports indicate that the 1996-built ship, with a capacity of 508 TEUs, started to lean due to “incorrect loading distribution.”
Despite the ship being managed by the Russian company FESCO, according to VesselsValue, there is no record of P&I insurance for the vessel.
A Turkish Ministry of Transport statement posted on X, formerly Twitter confirmed: “Fifteen personnel were evacuated from the Comoros-flagged container ship named AMNAH, which was lying sideways at Ambarlı Marport Port. The risk of marine pollution was brought under control by surrounding the ship with a floating barrier. Rescue operations began under the coordination of our port authority.”
The ship’s capsizing was caught on the port’s surveillance cameras, vividly depicting the scene of containers plunging into the sea while dockworkers scrambled to evade the plummeting cargo.
Authorities in Turkey have yet to disclose the specifics of the failed loading operation, nor have they provided information on the types of goods the vessel was carrying, which are now submerged in the shallow waters at the dock. However, measures such as protective barriers have been implemented to curb the dissemination of contamination.
Ambarli Port stands as Turkey’s busiest in terms of container traffic and ranks fifth in the country for total cargo tonnage. It is among the select few Turkish ports that can host vessels over 300 meters in length. This privately managed port has been in service since 1994.