A crane operator has been seriously injured, after an out-of-control container ship collided with four cranes in a Turkish port, knocking three of them over.

The incident happened when a Yang Ming Marine containership attempted to dock at the private port in Kocaeli, Turkey, on Saturday (16 March 2024) but failed to stop during its docking manoeuvre.

The 368-metre Hong Kong-registered container ship YM Witness collided with the port cranes in dramatic footage captured on an onlooker’s mobile phone.

Turkey’s Directorate General of Maritime Affairs confirmed that the ship had been under control of a pilot when the collusion occurred.

The YM Witness, a 145,000 dwt boxship, which was built in 2015, has a capacity of 14,000 TEU. The directorate confirmed that several containers were lost during the incident, after they fell into the sea.

The video shows shocked onlookers shouting and running away from the scene, as the ship approaches the dock at a steep angle, before a large noise is heard when the ship hits the first crane.

In a statement, Yang Ming said: “Whereas navigational behaviour and seamanship are under the supervision and management of the shipowner, administrative enquiries and a full investigation into this incident are currently conducted in conjunction between shipowner and the relevant maritime authorities.”

The vessel is chartered by the Taiwanese operator Yang Ming from Canadian tonnage provider Seaspan Corp.

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