UPDATE - Turkey: Cargo ship runs aground in stormy Black Sea

UPDATES WITH ALL CREW RESCUED, DECK

By Cigdem Alyanak

ISTANBUL (AA) - Heavy seas made a cargo ship run aground in the Black Sea off northeastern Istanbul early Wednesday, with all crew members rescued and no casualties reported, Turkish officials said.

At around 4.30 a.m. local time (0130GMT), the Natalia, a Comoro Islands-flagged cargo ship with a crew of 16, ran into trouble some two miles off Karaburun, a Black Sea peninsula in Sile, on the outskirts of Istanbul.

The ship dropped anchor, but as the captain sought no help, rescue boats held back close to a historic lighthouse, according to the Turkish Coast Guard.

After fixing an apparent mechanical problem, the ship started moving again towards the Istanbul Strait, but soon ran aground off Karaburun at about 9.00 a.m. (0600GMT) due to bad weather conditions.

Coast guard boats have taken all of the ship’s crew off the ship.