Türkiye closes Istanbul Strait to traffic as ship malfunctions

By Muhammet Gencebay Gur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Maritime traffic through the Istanbul Strait was suspended on Friday after a ship malfunctioned.

Sparta, a 134-meter-long (439-foot-long) vessel heading from Egypt to Bulgaria, malfunctioned near the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Türkiye’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety said on Twitter.

Rescue vessels and officials have been dispatched to assist the ship, it added.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar