A Turkish registered dry cargo vessel crashed into the supporting legs of a bridge construction on the Azov Sea, causing major damage on a project aiming to link Crimea to mainland Russia through a railway and a highway.

Turkish cargo ship LIRA crashes into bridge construction in Crimea

General cargo ship LIRA Image: babür halulu / shipspotting

The general cargo ship Lira, a vessel owned by the Turkuaz Shipping Company, hit the construction on the Kerch Strait after drifting off course on March 19, Russia’s İTAR-TASS news agency reported yesterday (Mar 23).

An aerial view of the construction site of a bridge across the Kerch Strait.

Image: Mikhail Klimentyev / TASS

The ship was taken to Russia’s Taganrog harbor as a safety measure after that one pole of the construction was completely destroyed and two other poles were severely damaged. It is reported that the company Krimskiy Most, which operates the bridge construction, is preparing a loss invoice.

The project has been also closely monitored by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who previously visited the site.

Former Ukrainian territory Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, after becoming contested by Moscow during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that erupted in the same year.

Source: HurriyetDailyNews