Revelations from Captains of the Alsu Vessel Following Collision Incident

The statements of the captains arrested in the ship accident off Silivri have emerged.

The statements of the 1st and 3rd captains of the Alsu ship, which was detained in connection with the ship accident that occurred 18 miles south of Silivri, have come to light.

In the accident that took place 18 miles south of Silivri, a Turkish-flagged commercial vessel named Alsu, measuring 90 meters in length and traveling from Kocaeli to Aliağa, collided with a commercial vessel named Tuğberk İmamoğlu, which was en route from İskenderun Port to Karadeniz Ereğli.

Following the accident, an investigation was initiated by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Among the suspects referred to the courthouse, the 1st captain of the Alsu ship, Ahmet Eraslan, and the 3rd captain, Murat Evciman, were arrested, while four others were released under judicial control.

The statements of the captains of the Alsu ship have emerged.

The statement of suspect Ahmet Eraslan, the 1st captain of the Alsu ship, at the Peace Criminal Court has been revealed.

Eraslan stated in his testimony that he was the 1st captain of the Turkish-flagged ship Alsu on the day of the incident and that he had started his duty on the ship about a month ago.

Eraslan expressed that he was resting at the time of the accident, saying, 'I was resting during the time frame when the ship accident occurred. Our 3rd captain, Murat Evciman, was on duty at the time of the accident, meaning he was responsible for the navigation and management of the ship during this time frame. At the moment the incident occurred, the ship was empty. I heard a sound of collision at the moment of the accident. When I got up, I heard our deck chief, Süleyman Eker, shouting, 'We collided, we collided.' Upon this, I immediately went upstairs.'

When he reached the bridge, Eraslan noted that the 2nd captain Barış Hazar and Murat Evciman were present, stating, 'When I asked what happened, they said, 'We collided.' When I got to the bridge, I saw the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu on the starboard quarter, with its lights on. The distance between us was approximately 300 meters. As I turned left with my ship, I saw the lights of the ship for about 2-3 minutes. Near the end of the turn, I saw the lights of the ship named Tuğberk İmamoğlu completely disappear.'

Eraslan mentioned that his own turn took about 5 minutes, saying, 'After that, I checked the position on the radar, and within about 1-2 minutes, the ship disappeared and was no longer visible on the radar. I immediately contacted Sector Marmara and reported the situation.'

'We did not collide with the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship; the ship collided with us.'

Eraslan indicated that there was no lookout on the ship at the time of the accident, stating that having a lookout is at the captain's discretion and that a lookout should be present in areas with heavy traffic.

Eraslan continued in his statement:

'There was no lookout on the ship at the time of the accident. Having a lookout on board is at the captain's discretion, and a lookout should be present in areas with heavy traffic. We did not collide with the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship; the ship collided with us. I believe the accident occurred because after the ship made a 'port side' warning to our ship, despite us taking it to port, the ship collided with ours due to its own decision to go to starboard instead of port.'

Eraslan stated that he does not accept the findings made about him in the expert report, saying, 'I have no fault in the incident. If our ship had violently collided with the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship, there would have been much greater damage on our ship. Our ship felt the accident as a lean.'

Eraslan noted that the AIS device on the Alsu ship was actively working, while he claimed that the AIS device on the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship was turned off.

Eraslan said, 'We could not see the ship on AIS. We could only track the ship on radar. The accident occurred as a result of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu hitting our ship. I am very sorry that such an incident occurred, and I request to be released.'

'The ship suddenly turned to starboard and changed its course towards me.'

The judicial statement of Murat Evciman, the 3rd captain of the Alsu ship and a detained suspect, has also been revealed.

Evciman, who stated that he has 7 months of experience in the profession, said that he was in command of the ship during the accident and that there was no additional lookout on the bridge.

Evciman stated that he did not use anything that could affect his judgment during his watch and expressed that he saw the ship on radar after the Tuğberk İmamoğlu called on the radio to 'take it to port.'

Evciman said, 'When I looked with the naked eye, I did not see the lights of this ship. When I looked at the ECDIS screen on my ship, AIS was not visible. When I looked at the radar screen, I saw the projection of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship.'

Evciman noted that he took the Alsu ship to port by about 5 degrees, stating that he heard the radio warning to 'take it to port' again about 2-3 minutes later and, upon this, sharply took the ship to approximately 9 degrees to port.

Evciman said, 'In this way, my ship remained on the right side of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship. At this position, there was approximately 700-800 meters of distance between the two ships. About 1-2 minutes later, the distance between us decreased to 500 meters. Since both ships were sailing on their own courses, there was no problem.'

Evciman then alleged that the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship changed direction, stating, 'The ship suddenly turned to starboard and changed its course towards me. At that moment, I thought the other ship would maneuver and called on the radio, 'Tuğberk İmamoğlu, you are coming towards me, do not come.'

After the radio call, Evciman noted that as the distance between the two ships decreased, the Alsu turned its course towards port, stating, 'At that time, the ship continued to turn to starboard and came towards me.'

'The accident occurred when the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship collided with my ship.'

Evciman also described from which area the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship hit Alsu during the collision, stating, 'The Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship hit my ship from the port bow shoulder to the starboard bow shoulder.'

After the collision, Evciman indicated that he went to the bridge, saying, 'At the moment of the collision, I immediately went down a few steps from the upper bridge and shouted, 'There has been a collision.' I immediately came to the bridge and saw the lights of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship.'

Evciman stated that about 20 seconds after the accident, the 2nd captain Barış Hazar came to the bridge and that Hazar turned the ship sharply to the right to distance it from the Tuğberk İmamoğlu.

He noted that they tried to communicate with the other ship after the collision but did not receive a response, and that they informed Sector Marmara about 10-15 minutes later.

Evciman continued in his statement:

'Information was provided to Sector Marmara about 10-15 minutes after the collision. The accident was caused by the other ship changing its course towards us. I do not accept the findings made about me in the expert report. I have no fault in the incident. Before the collision, the AIS of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship was not visible, so Sector Marmara did not warn me either. The accident occurred when the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship collided with my ship. I am very sorry that such an incident occurred, and I request to be released.'

Source: SeaNews Türkiye