Istanbul, Jun 29 (IANS): A dry cargo vessel loaded with wheat bound for Tunisia from Russia ran aground off Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, in the Marmara Sea.
After anchoring off the Bakirkoy district on the European side of the city, the 169-metre dry cargo ship named Lady Ayana ran aground, according to the Demiroren news agency.
It is not reported what caused the ship to run aground, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Coastal Safety Directorate of the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has commenced efforts to rescue the grounded ship, dispatching three fast rescue boats and a tugboat.
The ship had transited through the Bosphorus Strait from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and was expected to continue its journey to the Aegean Sea and then onward to the Mediterranean Sea.