Fifteen crew have been evacuated from a general cargo vessel that caught fire off the coast of Turkey on Friday.
The blaze erupted in the accommodation block onboard the 4,195 dwt Mark (built 1981) at around 06:20 local time, according to Turkish press.
“A police boat was dispatched to the scene. Fifteen crew members were rescued and taken to [Istanbul’s] Kartal port,” Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
The crew, including 10 Syrians, three Indians and two Egyptian nationals, were evacuated safely from the vessel and all are in good health, reports say.
The fire was reportedly extinguished within an hour and is being cooled.
The vessel was at anchor off the coast of Pendik, near Instanbul, in the Marmara Sea at the time of the fire, AIS data shows.
The vessel is owned and managed by GMZ Shipmanagement of Lebanon, according to Clarksons.
AIS data suggests the vessel is laden and was on its way to the Ukranian port of Izmail, after having called at ports in Turkey and Lebanon.
