BANDA Tanker Refloated Five Days After Grounding Off Istanbul

Refloating the 238-meter oil tanker BANDA five days after it ran aground off Kısırkaya marks a key step in clearing the vessel from the shoreline. The Liberia-flagged ship was pulled free on October 20, following an underwater inspection and a coordinated effort involving a response vessel, two tugs and a support boat.

BANDA grounded on October 15 after severe weather over the Black Sea pushed it toward shore near Kısırkaya, in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district. The vessel is approximately 42 meters wide. Those dimensions meant the salvage effort had to address a large ship sitting close to the coast, with its submerged sections requiring inspection before crews carried out the planned refloating.

Inspection came before the pull

That survey gave the salvage team information about the vessel’s condition below the waterline and its position at the grounding site. The source does not describe the inspection findings or specify what technical criteria were used to approve the next step.

That sequence matters in a grounding response: crews need to assess the vessel at its actual resting place before attempting to move it. The source describes an inspection followed by implementation of a salvage plan, but does not detail the methods used to free BANDA. It also does not say whether the tanker had to be shifted in stages, how the tugs were positioned, or what conditions the team set for the pull.

The absence of those details leaves the account focused on the broad sequence rather than the engineering behind it. There is no reported information on damage to the hull, the seabed, or nearby shoreline. Nor does the source say whether cargo was transferred or adjusted before the vessel was moved. Those points can affect how operators understand a grounding response, but no conclusions about them can be drawn from the available account.

Four vessels supported the salvage

The operation involved the Nene Hatun Emergency Response Vessel, the Salvage-8 and Şark tugs, and the KEGM-4 boat. Salvage experts coordinated the effort. The account identifies the vessels involved but does not assign specific functions to each one, so it is not possible to say which craft handled the principal tow, provided support, or monitored the site.

Using several vessels allowed the team to coordinate the refloating effort around a tanker nearly a quarter of a kilometer long. The source does not give details on the vessels’ capabilities, the lines or other equipment used, or the weather and sea conditions during the October 20 operation. It reports that the coordinated work succeeded in lifting BANDA from the point where it had grounded.

For carriers and vessel operators, the practical point is the staged response: assess the submerged sections, establish a salvage plan, then coordinate the vessels carrying out the move. The account offers no measurements of the ship’s movement or description of the moment it came free. It therefore confirms the outcome without providing a technical case study of the procedure.

Post-refloating details remain limited

BANDA was refloated on October 20, five days after grounding. The source says details of its post-salvage technical inspections, navigation plan and cargo status had not been disclosed at the time of reporting. Refloating establishes that the vessel was no longer aground at that location; by itself, it does not describe the ship’s condition or what steps followed.

Those follow-up details will determine what can be said about the tanker’s readiness to navigate and the status of its cargo. The available account does not state whether BANDA proceeded under its own power, required assistance to reach another location, or remained subject to further inspection. It also does not identify a destination or give a schedule for any subsequent movement.

The reported facts are clear on the central sequence: storm conditions drove BANDA aground off Kısırkaya on October 15; divers inspected its submerged sections; salvage experts coordinated four vessels; and the tanker was refloated on October 20. The next useful operational information would be the inspection findings, the vessel’s navigation arrangements and the cargo status, none of which were included in the source account.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye