For the second time in weeks, another bulk carrier hauling farm goods from Ukraine has run aground in a critical waterway, causing disruptions to shipping traffic.
Early Monday morning, MKK 1 (IMO: 8902929), a bulk carrier hauling 13,000 tons of peas from Ukraine, was grounded in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait, a strait that connects the Black Sea with global markets.
Footage on social media shows the bow of the bulk carrier lodged into the ground near the coastline on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
The good news is that an army of tugboats managed to refloat the vessel. CNN Turk television said the ship experienced a "steering" failure.
Ukrayna’dan İstanbul’a seyir halindeyken Beykoz Anadolu Kavağı önlerinde dümen arızası nedeniyle karaya oturan MKK-1 isimli 142 metre boyundaki dökme yük gemisi, römorkörler ile çekilerek oturduğu yerden hareket ettirildi. pic.twitter.com/POqu1SdCAR
— 41 Saat Haber (@41SaatHaber) January 16, 2023
Kıyı Emniyeti Genel Müdürlüğü, bu sabah Ukrayna’dan İstanbul’a seyir halindeyken Umuryeri’nde karaya oturan MKK-1 isimli 142 metre boyundaki dökme yük gemisinin kurtarıldığını bildirdi.https://t.co/FwF5FEdybO pic.twitter.com/j9MYwbUHOi
— ANKA Haber Ajansı (@ankahabera) January 16, 2023
#repost @salvage_and_wreck
— ⚓️MarioDeFenza⚓️ (@MarioDeFenza) January 16, 2023
Bulk carrier MKK-1 grounded in the #Bosphorus strait on January 16 2023.
The vessel was underway from Ukraine to Turkey, carrying cargo under the UN’s Black Sea grain initiative. pic.twitter.com/DpLA4j1EZu
MKK-1 isimli gemi, balık adam ekibimizin incelemesi sonrası bulunduğu yerden kurtarılıp yüzdürülerek İstanbul GTH Merkezimiz koordinasyonunda Kurtarma Uzmanımız, NENE HATUN Gemimiz, NAZIM TUR, KURTARMA- 8, 9 Römorkörlerimiz ve KEGM-8 Botumuz refakatinde Büyükdere’ye demirletildi. pic.twitter.com/LNt4Nxf2RW
— KEGM (@kiyiemniyet) January 16, 2023
Reuters quoted the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which operates the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal mission, said the MKK 1 was traveling from Pivdennyi, a commercial seaport in the Ukrainian city of Yuzhne near Odesa, to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Mersin.
No damage on MKK 1 has been found. Even though the vessel was refloated, Bloomberg said, "the strait has not yet reopened to shipping traffic."
Less than a week ago, another bulk carrier hauling Ukrainian farm goods suffered "equipment failure" and went aground in the Suez Canal. The vessel was refloated, and canal traffic was restored before major disruptions plagued the Egyptian waterway.
