SS ''Üsküdar'' was a small

passenger ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

built in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for the Turkish company Şirket-i Hayriye and launched in 1927. She sank in

lodos The lodos is the strong south-westerly wind which may predominate episodically in the Aegean Sea and Marmara Sea as well as the Mediterranean coast of Turkey all the year round; it frequently raises high seas and may give violent westerly squalls. ...

weather on March 1, 1958, in the

Gulf of Izmit A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

. The accident killed 272 people on board including seven crew, 39 survived the incident.

Ship

SS ''Üsküdar'' was built by F. Schichau Shipyard in Elbing, Germany in 1927 with

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

number 72. She was the first of two identical vessels the Turkish urban transportation company Şirket-i Hayriye commissioned in the Republican era. She was long with a beam of and a draft of . Three steam engines of propelled her initially at , which later dropped to . SS ''Üsküdar'' was capable of carrying 344 passengers. 430

lifejacket A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

s, 35

lifebuoy A lifebuoy is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water, to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activated lights, to aid rescue at night. Other names Other nam ...

s and two

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

s were on board the ferry.

Sinking

SS ''Üsküdar'' was on scheduled shuttle trips on the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...

between

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

and Değirmendere, a town on the southern coast of the Gulf of İzmit. On March 1, 1958, "lodos", a heavy SW storm was raising high seas. Mehmet Aşçı, captain of SS ''Üsküdar'', departed the ferry three minutes before the scheduled time of 12:30 local time from İzmit Pier, because the vessel was more vulnerable at the pier than at open sea. Shipmate Ali Kaya, who jumped onto the pier and untied the hawser, could not return to the ferry as the ship suddenly left the pier. The ferry had nine crew and 302 passengers aboard including 76 students from a local vocational high school. As the ferry headed to Değirmendere, high waves raised by the storm blowing at rocked the small vessel. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

broke off and fell into water, taking the captain and the boatswain with it. The rudder chain broke leaving the ferry uncontrollable. Water filled the engine room and the front passenger department after breaking the window glass. 26 minutes from her departure, SS ''Üsküdar'' careened over on the

port side A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and sank at 12:53 local time. 272 people died including 38 students and seven crew. 37 passengers and two crew survived the disaster.

Wreck's salvage

Eight days after the incident, the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

started a search and rescue operation. The muddy seabed hindered salvage efforts. On March 19, 1958, after eleven days of endeavors, the wreck was lifted with three slings off the deep seabed. Four corpses were recovered. It was observed that at some places, the steel sheets of the ship's hull were torn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uskudar 1927 ships Ships built in Elbing Ferries of Turkey Maritime incidents in 1958 Maritime incidents in Turkey Shipwrecks in the Sea of Marmara 1958 in Turkey History of Izmit Steamships of Turkey Ships built by Schichau March 1958 events in Europe March 1958 events in Asia