Turkish Tug Ayaz Bey Collides with Towed Tanker Mentor off Romania

The Turkish-flagged tug Ayaz Bey collided on November 4 with the unmanned vessel Mentor off the Romanian town of Neptun while towing it together with another Turkish tug, the Ramazan Bey, amid a storm in the Black Sea. Three of the seven crew members aboard the Ayaz Bey were evacuated and taken to Mangalia, while the other four declined evacuation, considering they did not need assistance. The tug, which at one point was at risk of sinking, was ultimately stabilized and anchored at Mangalia with no casualties reported.

The Mentor is a 13,000-deadweight-tonne product tanker flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda that had been struck in September off Odesa by a Shahed-type drone in a Russian attack that killed the vessel's Ukrainian master. Since then it had remained at anchor with its bridge burned out, until the Turkish tugs began towing it from Constanța to Turkey. According to Bulgarian reports cited by the media, the ship had about 11,000 tonnes of sunflower oil on board.

During the night, the towlines parted due to the bad weather and were reconnected, but shortly afterward the Ayaz Bey suffered propulsion problems and struck the Mentor, prompting the crew to issue a distress call at around 04:20 local time. The Dutch-flagged tug Odin, which was operating in the area, picked up the three evacuated crew members to bring them to Mangalia. The Constanța Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre coordinated the response, with the participation of the Coast Guard, the emergency services and the search and rescue vessel Ares, although strong winds and rough seas prevented the use of aircraft.

After the line connecting it to the Ramazan Bey also parted, the Mentor was left adrift and ended up drifting into Bulgarian waters near the Shabla region. Bulgarian authorities ordered the Ramazan Bey to stand by the tanker and contacted its owner, while the tug Ramazan Bey later positioned itself alongside the tanker near Cape Kaliakra and another tug, the Athletic, headed toward the area.

The Ayaz Bey, built in 1981, measures 36.23 meters, has a gross tonnage of 317 and a bollard pull of 30 tonnes; it is operated by the Istanbul-based company PGE Tugs, which also operates the Ramazan Bey, built in 1972, with a gross tonnage of 339 and a bollard pull of 42 tonnes. According to the company, the Ayaz Bey had earlier this year towed the drone-damaged cargo ship Victress to Turkish waters.