The Death Of MT Independenta

15 Nov 2019 1 Comment

40 years ago on this day, in the very early hours, İstanbul was shaken by a large explosion.  A powerful shock wave that broke the windows of many houses, was followed by a big large bright fireball.

The Romanian tanker MT Independenta was waiting for the pilot at the southern entrance of Istanbul Strait when the Greek cargo ship MV Evriali collided with her. The Romanian tanker was carrying 93,800 tons of crude oil from Libya as cargo and 260 tons of heavy fuel. Only 3 of the 43 strong crew survived the accident. The burning hull grounded half a mile away from the Haydarpaşa port and few meters from the breakwater. The tanker burned for one month until all the oil was consumed by the infernal fire. Attempts to fight the fire were unsuccessful.

My grandfather was lucky, to go on board and take some interesting yet grotesque and grim photos.   Some of them are below, to testify the intensity of the heat and days of burning.

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

My captured picture

Filed under Accidents, Bosphorus Tagged with , ,

Sondaj Gemilerimiz ve Teknolojileri

5 Sep 2019

2 ay ne kadar çabuk geçmiş. Oysa Sayın Bilal Eren ile sondaj gemilerimiz hakkında yaptığımız keyfli sohbetin bütün detayları aklımda.

Dinleyemeyenler veya yeniden dinlemek isteyenler kayıtlara aşağıdaki linklerden erişebilir:

YouTube: youtu.be/y3QIaPAtLzI

SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/dijitalhayattv

 

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6QXYMi

 

iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/tr/podcast/her

 

Web: dijitalhayat.tv/sondaj-gemiler

Filed under Aegean, Black Sea, Mediterranean Tagged with

Happy New Year

31 Dec 2018 1 Comment

Filed under Blogging Tagged with

10th Anniversary

15 Sep 2018 6 Comments

When I started this blog 10 years ago, I had no idea where it would take me. I had –and still have- things to share and things to say and I knew blogging was –and still is- the right media to address the world.

Blogging in English was a deliberate choice and to be frankly quite a challenge. My grammar and typing mistakes may hurt the eyes of native speakers, but I sincerely hope that the content you got may ease your pain.

It was not a smooth sailing. When a Turkish Court blocked the Blogspot, the original platform I was using, I had no idea whether I should continue or not and if yes how. The migration to WordPress, 8 years ago, was a big leap of faith for me but it worked fine. The Twitter account of this blog has been a good addition and an excellent platform for instant blogging.

Personally, the most satisfying moments were, when I was creating the news instead of relaying press releases or news articles prepared by somebody else.

Through this blog I was able to meet many wonderful people, must online, some in person and share ideas, information and thoughts. I am very grateful for this.

I would like to thank my family. Actually, I can’t thank them enough for every minute I spent on this blog is a minute less spent with them.

And finally, I would like to thank all my readers and followers. Without your continued feedback, interest and engagement this journey would not be this interesting.

Filed under Blogging Tagged with ,

Back From Vacation

17 Aug 2017 1 Comment

I have been silent for the last couple weeks. I was on vacation. And returned with the following photos:

Fast tanker RFA Wave Ruler

Cable laying ship USS Zeus.

Type 23 class frigate, HMS Montrose

Survey vessel HMS Scott. Ship’s emblem on her funnel, tells us where she spends most of her time.

Type-23 frigate HMS Somerset.

Trafalgar class submarine Ex- HMS Torbay being decommissioned, while HMS Bulwark in the background being deactivated.

HMS Albion being re-activated to replace HMS Bulwark.

Another Trafalgar class submarine ex- HMS Triumph being deactivated.

Type-23 class frigate HMS Argyll.

The former flagship of Royal Navy HMS Ocean.

Filed under Personal, Sighting Tagged with , ,

A Visitor From The Land Of Beer And Chocolate

3 Dec 2014 1 Comment

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This morning around 9.00 the Karel Doorman class frigate from Belgian Naval Forces F-930 BNS Leopold 1 arrived in Istanbul for a port visit.

The duration of the port visit is not disclosed. As far as I know, this is the first visit of BNS Leopold 1 in Istanbul. She is returning home from EU anti piracy mission Atalanta.

Filed under Port Visit Tagged with , , , ,

USS Taylor Passed Through Bosphorus Being Towed

9 Mar 2014 11 Comments

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USS Taylor being towed by the tug Coastal Voyager. The tug Kurtaran 1 from Turkish Coastal Safety Agency is preventing the ship from drifting at the back. Turkish Coast Guard vessel TCSG-90 is providing security.

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This photo show the third tug, again from Turkish Coastal Safety Agency. She was on the starboard side of USS Taylor during her passage through Bosphorus, preventing the ship from drifting by the currents

The Arleigh Burke class destroyer DDG-103 USS Truxtun is the only US warship in the Black Sea as today with the southbound passage of FF(G)-50 USS Taylor through the Bosphorus.

The Perry class frigate was deployed to the Black Sea before the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games started. USS Taylor and the flag ship of the US 6th Fleet USS Mount Whitney were send to the Black Sea to help with the evacuation of US athletes and spectators in case of an terror attack to the Games.

USS Taylor had a grounding in Samsun harbour on 12 February 2014 as she arrived here for refueling. Her only propeller was damaged during the accident and all the work done to repair the ship turned out to be not effective.

US Navy contracted the company DonJon specialized in marine salvage and towing, to tow USS Taylor to Souda Crete where her propeller hub and blades will be replaced. 

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USS Truxtun Passed Through The Bosphorus

8 Mar 2014

As reported few days ago by US Navy, the Arleigh Burke class destroyer DDG-103 USS Truxtun passed through the Turkish Straits on 7 March 2013 and entered the Black Sea.

According the official US Navy press release the destroyer is en route to conduct combined training and theater security cooperation engagements in the Black Sea with Romanian and Bulgarian Naval forces. USS Truxtun, the ship will conduct a port visit and routine, previously planned exercises with allies and partners in the region.

US Navy careful stresses that USS Truxtun‘s operations in the Black Sea were scheduled well in advance of her departure from the United States. But the political crisis between Russia and Ukraine over the fate of Crimea makes this deployment of USS Truxtun to the region a special one.

A strong storm front is coming from the north. In literary and figurative sense of the word USS Truxtun is sailing into a storm.

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Ms. Eser Çelebiler, kindly share her photos of the USS Truxtun as she passed through Bosphorus.
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Mr. Kerim Bozkurt, an invaluable contributor to this blog also shared his photos of the USS Truxtun as she passed through Bosphorus.
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Ukrainian Frigate Hetman Sahaidachny Passed Through Turkish Straits

5 Mar 2014 2 Comments

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus.

The flagship of the Ukrainian Navy, the Krivak III (Project 1135.1) class frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passed through the Turkish Straits today and is now in the Black Sea. I have no information about her destination. It can be Sevastopol or Odessa. We will know better tomorrow.

The ship was doing anti piracy operations first with the CTF-151 and later with Operation Atalanta since September 2013.

A large Ukrainian flag was hoisted as she was passing through the Bosphorus contrary to the earlier reports that she has changed flags.  During her passage she was escorted by large patrol boat TCSG-90 from Turkish Coast Guard. Turkish Coast Guard vessels usually escort foreign warships during their passages through Turkish Straits.

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A few minutes later a Turkish Meko 200 class frigate TCG Yavuz passed through the Bosphorus and followed the Ukrainian warship towards the Black Sea.

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Turkish frigate F-240 TCG Yavuz sailing towards the Black Sea

I do not think that the Turkish warship was shadowing the Ukrainian frigate or escorting her, but the presence of the Turkish frigate was not a coincidence either.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus. Photos: Kerim Bozkurt. Used with permission.


A group of Ukrainians were cheering as the flagship of their navy passed by them.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus. Photos: Kerim Bozkurt. Used with permission.

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Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny passing through the Bosphorus. Photos: Kerim Bozkurt. Used with permission.

Filed under Black Sea, Bosphorus Tagged with , , , ,

USS Mount Whitney Left Istanbul

27 Feb 2014 2 Comments

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The Blue Ridge class command and control ship LCC-20 USS Mount Whitney, leaving Istanbul, this morning.

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The Blue Ridge class command and control ship LCC-20 USS Mount Whitney, leaving Istanbul, this morning.

After a well deserved 3 day port visit in Istanbul at quarter to 9:00 am, the flagship of the 6. US Fleet, USS Mount Whitney left Istanbul heading towards the Mediterranean. This is the formal end of the US Navy’s Olympic Games Deployment.

USS Taylor is still in Samsun harbour in the meantime. The fate of the stricken frigate USS Taylor is still undecided. It is not clear how long the repair work will continue.

Filed under Bosphorus Tagged with , , , ,

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