Turkish Cargo Ship Listing on Breakwater in Italy

The Turkish cargo ship Efe Murat, which ran aground on a breakwater off Bari, Italy, continued listing since the incident on February 23.

Although there were no reports of water pollution at the site, there are fears that the 37 tonnes of oil aboard the 1977-built ship could lead to an environmental disaster, according to local media.

Relevant authorities have devised a plan to extract the oil from the 5,800 dwt vessel, an operation which is scheduled to start on February 28. The oil would be extracted by using a mini oil pipeline, local media said.

Weather conditions at the site are slowing down the salvage operation.

Italian coast guard continued undertaking overflights to monitor the vessel and the situation. An inspection of Efe Murat, which is crewed by 15 sailors and a Master, all of Turskish nationality, was also conducted, reportedly with signs of hull rupture. A Dutch salvage company was hired to carry out the vessel removal and fuel extraction.

Efe Murat ran into trouble some 200 meters off the coast of Bari due to loss of control in strong winds and rough sea conditions. At the time, the cargo ship was on its way from Ortona to Aliaga, Turkey.

#Bari: sono proseguiti anche #ieri ed #oggi i sorvoli, sul mercantile Efe Murat, dell’elicottero Nemo 9 #GuardiaCostiera #Catania per il monitoraggio ambientale. Non si registrano tracce di inquinamento. #TutelaAmbiente pic.twitter.com/m1VbYOdevP

— Guardia Costiera (@guardiacostiera) February 26, 2019