The Transportation Ministry reported that the Nazann tanker with a length of 114 metres had a rudder problem. This caused the suspension of both directions in the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

The coast guard sent tugboats to the strait after the vessel had mechanical issues. It was en route from Russia towards Kocaeli, Turkey. After a rudder failure on the vessel in the Bosphorus, tugboats helped anchor the tanker safely at Ahirkapi. Local news reported that northbound traffic resumed in the strait at 0050 local Sunday (2150 GMT Monday) as expected.

The Bosphorus is a waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara in the southwest and, beyond it, to the Mediterranean. Reporting by Jonathan Spicer, Canan Sevgili and Kevin Liffey; editing by Andrea Ricci and Kevin Liffey

(source: Reuters)