A 39-year-old cargo ship that listed in front of running cameras and then sunk in Turkey in September has been refloated and is about to head to the country’s demolition capital of Aliaga.
The general directorate of shipping at Turkey’s transport ministry tweeted early on Tuesday that the 4,300-dwt Sea Eagle (built 1984) was made afloat on 2 January.
“The said ship will be taken to the Aliaga shipbreaking area for recycling,” the government agency said.
The reason behind the sinking of the ship remains unclear.
The Togo-flagged Sea Eagle had gone down while at pier in Iskenderun on 18 September, sending a number of containers overboard.
According to media reports at the time, the ship was docked and readying to unload boxes when it began taking on water and listed.
Crew members were safely evacuated before the ship sank and then rested, partially submerged, on the bottom.
Video footage at the time showed at least 12 boxes going overboard from the Star Eagle and floating in the water. Others buckled on board as stacks collapsed.
The Sea Eagle had left Mersin, another Turkish port, on 16 September.
The vessel had its last port state control detention in 2019, when Iranian authorities held it for 28 days.
Despite its age, the Sea Eagle appears to have been the youngest ship in the vintage fleet of Egyptian operator Sea Scanner Logistics.
According to S&P Global, the Damietta-based outfit currently controls five general cargo ships or bulk carriers. All were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are flying the flag of Palau.
At the time it went to the bottom at Iskenderun, VesselsValue assessed the Sea Eagle as worth $3.75m.
