UPDATE - Türkiye reopens Istanbul Strait to traffic after brief halt

UPDATES WITH REOPENING OF ISTANBUL STRAIT; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK

By Muhammet Gencebay Gur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Maritime traffic through the Istanbul Strait was reopened following a brief halt after a ship malfunctioned on Friday.

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 were dispatched to assist the ship, which was tugged to the Turkeli Anchorage Area, where it was safely anchored, it said.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar