Cargo Vessel and Tanker Collide in Aegean Sea

Published Jun 8, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

A Turkish cargo ship collided with a Greek tanker and sank last week. One Turkish seaman was killed and at least five more missing in the wake of the accident. The Greek tanker rescued seven crewmembers of the sunken vessel and recovered the body of the dead seaman. The tanker reported little damage and there were no reports of oil pollution. The cause of the collision was not immediately apparent and the accident is under investigation by local authorities in Piraeus.

The incident occurred in daylight hours in the southern Aegean Sea, near the Greek port of Piraeus, a heavily traveled area for shipping. It came about a week after Turkish and Greek F-16 jets collided over the southern Aegean, where the two NATO Allies are embroiled in a long-simmering dispute over control of air space in the region.

A massive search, including Greek assets, was underway for the missing crewmembers of the cargo ship. All of the Greek sailors from the tanker were safe and accounted for. The cargo ship was carrying steel when it left Turkey for the Moroccan port of Casablanca, while the Greek tanker had departed a nearby oil refinery bound for Crete.