The most terrible accident in the Bosphorus Strait: the 1979 Autonomous Tanker Disaster

Many incidents have occurred in the waters of the world, and their reverberations have persisted for many years. Unfortunately, one of these accidents, which caused many deaths and caused great environmental damage, occurred in our country, in the Bosphorus Strait, in November 1979. On November 15, 1979 the tanker Independence, which was carrying 96 thousand tons of crude oil, and the Greek ship Evriali collided. off the coast of Haydarpasa. The accident, the traces of which have not been erased for many years, was recorded as the most terrible tanker accident in the Bosphorus.

The accident, in which 43 of the tanker’s crew lost their lives, several buildings in Istanbul were severely damaged, and countless species in the Bosphorus strait were destroyed, took its place in history as the Independence tanker disaster. Let’s take a look at the details of the most terrible accident in the Bosphorus Strait, the Independence oil tanker disaster.

Exactly 44 years ago, the Bosphorus Strait was the scene of one of the largest incidents in civil maritime history.

The Romanian-flagged tanker, Independeta, which set out to transport 96,000 tons of crude oil from Libya to the Romanian port of Constanta, arrived in the Bosphorus Strait on November 15, 1979. While the tanker was sailing off Haydarpaşa, it collided with the Greek-flagged ship Evriali, which I entered the Bosphorus from the direction of the Black Sea!

Indipenta carrying 96 thousand tons of crude oil exploded loudly!

So much so that the windows of many houses in the coastal areas of Istanbul were broken and some buildings were seriously damaged. There was a second large explosion on the tanker at the beginning of December.

Explosions and cascading fires that could reach meters high disrupted firefighting and rubble removal work.

In the expert report prepared after the accident, it was announced that the Greek ship had a “major fault” and a “minor fault” was discovered with the tanker.

In addition, the lack of a pilot on both ships has been cited as an important cause of the accident.

The fire that broke out after the explosion of the Independence oil tanker lasted for nearly a month!

For a long time, the people of Istanbul witnessed firsthand the amazing effects of this terrible incident. On the other hand, after the accident, the Bosphorus was in the center of terrible environmental destruction due to the oil spill.

In order to prevent the oil spill from the tanker from spreading to a wider area, the one-kilometer barrier brought from the United States was placed in the strait.

However, the Bosporus was the victim of a rare environmental disaster. According to studies conducted after the accident, 96 percent of the creatures living in the depths of the Bosphorus lost their lives due to pollution. It will take many years for Istanbul’s fishermen to meet the Bosphorus hosts again…

After the terrible accident in the Bosphorus Strait, all 43 crew members of the Independence tanker lost their lives.

The material damage caused by the Independence tanker disaster, which was one of the most terrible accidents in the history of the civil navy and had a great impact all over the world at that time, was calculated at 40 billion lire with the money of that period!

The Independence tanker disaster, which caused a days-long fire in the Bosphorus Strait and covered the sky with black smoke, caused the people of Istanbul to suffer years of trauma.

The wreck of the Independence ship, completely unusable after the accident, was removed only in 1987!

The wreckage of the huge tanker, which had not been removed for many years due to various problems, remained in the Bosphorus until 1987 as the most vivid reminder of the terrible accident for the residents of Istanbul. The wreck of the Indipenta wreck was towed to Tuzla in 1987, after 8 years …

This oil tanker accident in the Bosphorus Strait has gone down in history as one of the biggest environmental disasters in Turkey.

After the disaster, which claimed the lives of 43 people, 30,000 tons of crude oil was burned, covering Istanbul with black smoke, and 65,000 tons of oil was mixed in the blue waters of Marmara, causing the extinction of countless living things.

In a word, the Independence tanker disaster has gone down in history as one of the most terrible accidents in the history of the civil navy and one of the largest environmental disasters in our country.