Turkish Container Vessel Med Beykoz Engine Failure Closes Çanakkale Strait for 2.5 Hours

The Turkish-flagged container vessel Med Beykoz (202 metres LOA) suffered a sudden engine failure while transiting the Çanakkale Strait southbound on April 27, triggering an emergency response that closed the waterway to two-way traffic for approximately 2.5 hours.

The Çanakkale VTS centre coordinated the response. Three state salvage tugs (Kurtarma-15, Kurtarma-20, and Kurtarma-4) were deployed to assist, towing Med Beykoz under pilot escort to Karanlık Liman anchorage, where the vessel was safely moored.

The strait was closed to two-way transit from 1205 local time and reopened to northbound traffic at 1430. No injuries or pollution were reported. Repair work was ongoing as of April 27.

Med Beykoz had been transiting from Gebze (Asyaport) toward İzmir at the time of the failure. The Çanakkale Strait, connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, handles significant volumes of commercial traffic daily and is one of the world's narrowest internationally navigable straits.

According to ShipAtlas, the vessel is now underway again.

Investigation into the cause of the engine failure is ongoing.