Maritime Monster All Jobs Moored Here
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Last week, a Turkish-owned freighter hit the former yacht of Yugoslavia’s president-for-life Josip Broz Tito, currently under renovation for use as a museum ship in Rijeka, Croatia. On Friday night, the freighter Deniz Akay was maneuvering in port when she lost propulsion, likely due to a technical fault, according to local media. She went adrift and allided with the historic vessel Galeb (Seagull), which was moored across the harbor against the breakwater. Akay was retrieved and taken to a nearby berth for inspection. “There was an error in the propulsion system [aboard Deniz Akay], so our inspectors were on board today. They determined this from the VDR records, which show the exact driving modes, and it was clear that an error occurred at that time,” explained Rijeka Port Authority captain Davor Glazar, speaking to outlet HRT. “We breathalyzed both the pilot and the captain, and both had 0.0 per mille.” An initial survey found that both vessels sustained hull damage, though not enough to threaten stability or release fuel oil into the environment. No injuries to personnel were reported. Photos from the scene show that Galeb sustained damage on the port bow, including a hull penetration well above the waterline. The city of Rijeka, which owns the vessel, is conducting an assessment and is expected to seek compensation, Glazar added. (A harbor crane was also damaged, and the port will be pursuing damages as well, HRT reported.) The city of Rijeka and its partners have spent about $14 million on restoring Galeb and adapting its interior for use as a museum ship, and it had been slated for opening by the end of the year. Galeb has a colorful history. Built in 1938 as a banana boat, she was armed and adapted for naval escort duty in Italian (then later German) service during WWII. She was sunk at Rijeka in late 1944 and rested on the bottom for four years. Raised in 1948, she was restored and turned into a training ship for the Yugoslav Navy – and was swiftly adopted by the nation’s communist authoritarian leader, Josip Broz Tito, for personal transport and lodging. It was his preferred mode of travel for diplomatic missions overseas, and it allowed him to host leading dignitaries of the day, including foreign leaders and Hollywood stars. Stay on Top of the Daily Maritime News The maritime news that matters most Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily. Subscribe Now // Global validation function (only defined once) if (!window.validateEmailSignupForm) { window.validateEmailSignupForm = function(form) { const input = form.querySelector(‘.email-signup__input’); const email = input.value.trim(); input.classList.remove(‘error’); if (!email || !email.includes(‘@’) || !email.includes(‘.’)) { input.classList.add(‘error’); input.focus(); return false; } return true; }; } // Fetch fresh CSRF token for all forms (only once) if (!window.csrfTokenFetched) { window.csrfTokenFetched = true; fetch(‘/csrf-token’) .then(r => r.json()) .then(data => { document.querySelectorAll(‘.email-signup input[name=”_token”]’).forEach(input => { input.value = data.token; }); }) .catch(() => {}); } // Unique callback for this form instance window.submitEmailSignup_email_signup_6993ba84644bb = function(token) { const form = document.getElementById(’email-signup-6993ba84644bb’); if (window.validateEmailSignupForm(form)) { form.submit(); } }; After the end of communism and the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, the title to Galeb changed hands multiple times. The vessel partially sank – for the second time – in 2008. It was sold to the city of Rijeka for an affordable sum in 2009, and has been in varying stages of restoration ever since. Deniz Akay is a 2010-built freighter of 10,000 dwt, flagged in Barbados and managed in Turkey. She has no record of inspection deficiencies since 2024.
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ARTICLE LINK: maritime-executive.com
