Baku. 5 August. REPORT.AZ/ The Azerbaijanis are in the top 20 among tourists visiting Istanbul in the first half of 2017. During this period, some 92, 088 Azerbaijanis visited Istanbul.

According to the report of Istanbul Culture and Tourism Office, Germans have taken the first place with 9,2% among tourists visiting Istanbul in the first half-year. Throughout this period, 7,7 % of tourists were Iranians, 4,6% – Russians, 4,3% - Saudi Arabia citizens, 4,2% - Iraqis, 3,5% - Britons, 3,4% - Ukrainians, 3,3% Frenchmen, 2,9% - Americans, 2,5% - Dutchmen, 2,1% Kuwait citizens, 2,1% Turkmens, 2,1% - Azerbaijanis and 2% - Chinese citizens.

Notably, in January-June, a total of 4 385 153 tourists visited Istanbul. It is 1% lower compared to the same period of 2016.</s>A tanker crashed into a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus on Saturday after its steering equipment became locked, Reutres reported citing broadcaster CNN Turk said.

Broadcaster adding that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions.

Towboats and coast guard vessels were sent to the area after the crash and the “Vitaspirit” tanker, carrying a Maltese flag, was pulled back from the crash site and brought to shore, CNN Turk said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbul’s Asian and European sides.</s>Ship that crashed into Istanbul waterfront mansion moored in Marmara Sea

ISTANBUL

A cargo vessel that crashed into a waterside mansion on the Bosphorus on April 7 has been moored in the Marmara Sea for investigation, with the owners of the mansion demanding proper prosecution against those in charge of maritime traffic.

“The ship that was involved in the accident has been routed to the Ahırkapı anchor point. There were no casualties or marine pollution caused by the incident. It was caused by an abrupt halt of the main engine,” said the Istanbul Governor’s Office in a statement on April 7.

The Maltese-flagged Vitaspirit, a 225-meter (740 foot) vessel en route from Russia to Saudi Arabia, was guided by a harbor pilot, it said.

The building’s roof and upper floors collapsed and television pictures showed the basement slumping into the water.

Images showed the stricken vessel ramming the mansion on the Asian side of the Bosphorus with the tip of its bow, sending a cloud of dust and rubble into the air as the building collapsed.

“It was like a horror film. Nobody understood what was going on. The ship, as tall as the building, had already ploughed before we went downstairs to the garden,” said Aslı Zeynep Ertürer, one of the members of the family that owns the mansion.

“It is a 200-year-old mansion. It is a building we have sustained fighting tooth and nail. The exterior parts can be repaired somehow but we have lost many valuable properties we had been trying to protect inside,” she told Doğan News Agency on April 8.

The family will file a complaint against whoever is responsible for maritime security, according to their lawyer, Nazlı Selek.

“We expect support from the public. We expect support from all governmental agencies and institutes for this national wealth. We expect support for the prosecution of the individuals responsible and the investigation to be done properly,” she said.

Such waterside mansions, known as yalis in Turkish, are among the most historic and expensive properties on the waterway that runs through Istanbul and divides Europe and Asia.

The wooden Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi mansion was built by Ottoman nobles in the 19th century.

‘Manageable risk’

The Bosphorus is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and in 2017 it was transited by some 42,000 military, naval and commercial vessels.

The government says the risk of such accidents shows the need to build its planned and hugely controversial new canal for Istanbul that would take the shipping traffic and lessen the pressure on the Bosphorus.

Cem Devrim Yaylalı, an Istanbul-based Turkish naval expert and editor of the Bosphorus Naval News website, said there was always a risk of such an incident in the Bosphorus but it should be avoided.

“The risk is there but it is manageable if all parts of the system work as they should,” he said.

“That means the Vessel Traffic Service [traffic control for the ships], the pilots and the ships’ crew and machinery need to work as advertised,” he said.

There has been a litany of shipping accidents in the last decades in the Bosphorus although far fewer in recent years as safety standards and technology improved.

One of the worst was the deadly December 1960 collision between the Yugoslav-flagged tanker Petar Zoranic and the Greek vessel World Harmony that caused a fire which lasted for weeks.

Turkish Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk famously recounts in his 2003 memoir “Istanbul: Memories and the City” the 1963 ramming of a Soviet vessel into the living room of a sleeping Istanbul family.</s>The "Vitaspirit" tanker, under the flag of Malta, which sailed from Egypt to Ukraine, has crashed into a historic mansion, located on the shores of the Strait of Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey.

No victims have been reported, but this footage from the crash captured the great damage caused to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbul's Asian and European sides.

A tanker ran into a historic waterfront mansion in İstanbul’s Bosphorus. If it was an LNG tanker, an area of 30-40 km could have been decimated w/scores of deads. This accident shows once again how unfit Bhosphorus is for oil and LNG tankers. https://t.co/1M17CES1F3 pic.twitter.com/j8sMVHDxFi — 🇹🇷 Umut Acar (@AcarUmut) April 7, 2018</s>ISTANBUL — A cargo ship has crashed into a historic mansion on Istanbul’s Bosporus strait, severely damaging the building.

Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said the Maltese-flagged cargo ship had a malfunction Saturday that disabled its rudder and caused it to lose control in the busy waterway.

Videos showed the large ship sailing straight toward the Asian shores of Istanbul, hitting the red seaside mansion of Hekimbasi Salih Efendi. No one was injured.

Anadolu said the 225-metre (738-foot) ship was carrying barley from Russia to Saudi Arabia.

The mansion once belonged to a doctor who served in the Ottoman palace and dates back to the 18th century.

The Bosporus is a key waterway connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and then the Aegean Sea.</s>The Maltese-flagged cargo ship had a malfunction that disabled its rudder and caused it to lose control in the busy waterway, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said.

Videos showed the large ship sailing straight towards the Asian shores of Istanbul, hitting the red seaside mansion of Hekimbasi Salih Efendi. No-one was injured.

The 225-metre (738ft) ship was carrying barley from Russia to Saudi Arabia, Anadolu said.</s>Share this article with Google Plus

A 225-metre-long ship has crashed into a historic mansion in Istanbul after its rudder failed.

The Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi mansion was built in the 18th century and regularly hosts weddings and concerts.

It was severely damaged in the collision, with splinted wood and holes in the walls clearly visible from the river.

Turkey’s Bosporus Strait was closed to boats for several hours yesterday afternoon, the Daily Sabah reported.

The vessel, called The Vitaspirit, had a Maltese flag and was heading to Saudi Arabia from Russia.

No environmental threats have been reported from the accident and no-one was injured during the crash.

Every year over 50,000 vessels pass through the Bosporus, an S-shaped channel with sharp turns and changing currents, and it has been an accident black spot for a century.

A Romanian tanker and a Greek freighter collided and exploded in November 1979, killing 42 crew members aboard the Romanian tanker.

In 2003, a Georgian-flagged vessel ran aground resulting in a spill of 480 tons of oil.

MORE: Police ‘increasingly concerned to find’ missing man, 79, who has dementia

MORE: ‘For sale’ shed that’s about to fall off cliff probably isn’t a bargain</s>Istanbul – A massive bulk cargo ship collided on Saturday into a waterfront mansion worth millions on Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait.

 

 Authorities had to close the key shipping route in both directions according to reports.

A technical failure in the rudder or steering system was seen as the likely cause for the ship losing control, TRT reported.

No one was hurt in the incident.

The Maltese-flagged Vitaspirit ship was towed away from the crash site, the 18th century Hekimbasi Salih Efendi mansion, located on the Asian side of the Turkish metropolis, under the second of the three bridges spanning the strait.

The mansion, with its pink facade, was badly damaged in the incident, with the upper floors almost entirely destroyed.

The building had once been the home of an Ottoman-era nobleman and is now used for hosting events, including weddings.

Media outlets in Turkey, including Sozcu newspaper, speculated the value of the building could be more than 85 million dollars.

The ship, coming in at some 225 metres in length and 32 metres wide, had set off from Egypt and was due to dock in Ukraine, according to the private Dogan news agency.

The Bosphorus strait connects the Black Sea and Marmara Sea and is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. (dpa/NAN)</s>ANKARA: A tanker crashed into a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus on Saturday after its steering equipment became locked, broadcaster CNN Turk said, adding that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions.

Towboats and coast guard vessels were sent to the area after the crash and the "Vitaspirit" tanker, carrying a Maltese flag, was pulled back from the crash site and brought to shore, CNN Turk said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbul's Asian and European sides.

The Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Mansion has stood on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait since the 18th century and is used to host weddings and concerts, according to the mansion's website.

The Bosphorus is one of the world's most important choke points for maritime oil transports, with more than 3 percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

It is also used by vessels carrying grain from Russia and Kazakhstan to international markets.</s>A massive tanker has crashed into an historic mansion on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait after its steering equipment became locked, according to Turkish state media, briefly suspending the traffic in the strait in both directions.

Towboats and coastguard vessels were sent to the area after the crash on Saturday afternoon and the Maltese-flagged tanker Vitaspirit was pulled back from the crash site to be brought to shore, state-run Anadolu Agency said.

There were no casualties in the collision, according to Turkish media.

The tanker was stranded under the Second Bosphorus Bridge, near Anatolian Fortress, in Istanbul's Asian part, Anadolu said, adding that the hit damaged the shore and the mansion.

The bridge, also known as Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, is one of the three crossings between Istanbul's Asian and European sides divided by Bosphorus.

The Istanbul governorate said that the ship was anchored to stop, but it still hit the shore at 3:30pm local time (12:30 GMT).

Footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the bridge.

The building's roof and upper floors collapsed and videos showed the basement slumping into the water.

The Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Mansion has stood on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait since the 18th century and is used to host weddings and concerts, according to the mansion's website.

Such waterside mansions are among the most historic and expensive properties on the Bosphorus.

The Deniz Haber maritime news agency said that 225-metre Vitaspirit was heading from Egypt to Ukraine.

The Bosphorus is one of the world's most important choke points for maritime oil transports, with more than three percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 27-kilometre waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

It is also used by vessels carrying grain from Russia and Kazakhstan to international markets.
MV Vitaspirit, a 225-meter cargo ship, crashes into a 200-year-old historic coastal mansion on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey after an engine failure during a voyage from Russia to Saudi Arabia.