Pilot dead following ship boarding mishap in Turkey

Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has confirmed that a local maritime pilot died as a result of a vessel boarding accident that occurred in the Bosphorus Strait on Sunday, February 4.

The victim, identified as maritime pilot Oguz Kok, was attempting to board the Cook Islands-registered bulk carrier New Siham at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus at approximately 04:30 local time on Sunday.

Initial reports stated that Kok fell into the water shortly after he stepped from a pilot boat onto a ladder on the side of the larger bulk carrier. He was later found unconscious and pulled out of the water by another crewmember on the same pilot boat.

Kok was brought to Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.

Local transport officials are investigating whether the victim perished due to hypothermia.