Turkish cargo ship sinking in the Adriatic, Croatian and Italian services evacuate crew

ZAGREB, (Patria) - A Turkish cargo ship suffered damage in the archipelago of Jabuka island early this morning due to water ingress into the engine room, after which a rescue operation was launched towards the crew in coordination with the Croatian and Italian Search and Rescue Coordination Centres at sea, the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure announced.

The Ministry states that the first information about the damage to the ship 'Haksa' was received this morning at 4:16 AM by officials of the Maritime Traffic Monitoring and Management Centre (VTMIS Split), who informed the National Search and Rescue Coordination Centre at Sea (MRCC Rijeka) about the incident and relayed the information that the crew had reported water ingress into the lower decks of the 85-meter-long cargo ship with 13 crew members (11 citizens of the Republic of Turkey and 2 citizens of the Republic of India), sailing under the flag of the Republic of Turkey, and that they had requested assistance.

"At 4:25 AM, MRCC Rijeka officials received a distress call from the damaged Turkish ship, following which they began broadcasting notices of the damage to all participants in maritime traffic via Coastal Radio Stations and launched a coordinated rescue operation in cooperation with MRCC Rome - Republic of Italy, as the position of the damaged ship is in the archipelago of Jabuka island, specifically in the Jabuka Basin, in an area that partially extends beyond Croatian territorial waters," stated the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, reports Patria agency.

It is further stated that the motor tanker 'Valcadore', flying the flag of the Republic of Italy, was sailing approximately 4 nautical miles from the position of the damage at the time of the incident, so MRCC Rijeka redirected it to the rescue operation.

In the meantime, MRCC Rijeka engaged the Split Port Authority and Split Maritime Police in the rescue operation, whose crews immediately set sail towards the position of the damage. The Centre also involved tugboats from the company Brodospas in the operation, and the Croatian Coast Guard was also informed, with its ships put on standby. Furthermore, MRCC Rijeka, in communication with MRCC Rome, engaged two Italian tugboats that are sailing towards the accident site.

"The captains of 'Valcadore' and 'Haksa', in coordination with MRCC Rijeka, began the crew evacuation procedure this morning at 06:05 AM, with the captain of the Turkish cargo ship deciding to remain with four other crew members on the sinking ship for as long as possible," stated the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

The eight evacuated crew members of the damaged Turkish ship were transferred from the tanker 'Valcadore' to a Split Maritime Police boat and are being transported to the Port of Split, while a rescue boat from the Split Port Authority remained at the scene, whose officials, in cooperation with the captain and the remaining crew of 'Haksa', are working to attempt to save the ship, pending the arrival of other rescue units.

"No sea pollution has been observed at the site of the damage so far, however, given that the Turkish ship is carrying 3,000 metric tons of sinter magnesite, and its tanks contain about 70 tons of fuel and lubricants, the competent Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure has initiated all protocols to prevent and mitigate any potential sea pollution at the site of this maritime accident," the statement reads.