Turkey’s Coastal Safety Authority reported that traffic through the strategic Dardanelles Strait was temporarily halted due to an engine room fire aboard the AK Discovery, a 7,500 deadweight tonnage bulker heading towards the Black Sea and the port of Varna in Bulgaria.
The ship, built in 2001 and registered in Barbados, was en route from Egypt and operated by Greek owners and managers.
The fire, suspected to have originated in the engine room, caused visible smoke from the 107.5-meter vessel, halting its progress in the critical waterway. Turkish authorities dispatched two rescue boats, a fast response vessel, and a pilot boat to the scene, where they sprayed water onto the funnel and stern to extinguish the fire.
Once the fire was under control, Rescue-13 was tasked with towing the bulker to a safe anchorage. Traffic through the Dardanelles resumed thereafter. The Turkish Coast Guard is investigating the fire’s cause to safeguard the waterway.
As explained, this incident follows a recent inspection in Egypt, where the AK Discovery was flagged for auxiliary engine issues, though the vessel was not detained during this inspection.
Yangın söndürme çalışmalarına başlanılmıştır. pic.twitter.com/Cs987RLaso
— KEGM (@kiyiemniyet) April 25, 2024
