Turkish tug Ayaz Bey strikes tow in Black Sea storm

In the early hours of November 4, 2026, the Turkish-flagged tugboat Ayaz Bey was working its way through rough Black Sea weather off Neptun, Romania, with a job that had become common on this stretch of water: hauling a war-damaged ship out of the conflict zone. The unmanned tow, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Mentor, had earlier been damaged near Odesa, Ukraine. A second tug, the Ramazan Bey, was helping with the operation.

Overnight, the towlines parted. Crews managed to reconnect them, but then Ayaz Bey developed propulsion problems and struck the Mentor. The tug sent a mayday at around 04:20 local time.

Romania's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Constanta took charge of the response. Coast guard cutters, an emergency inspectorate unit, and the rescue ship SAR Ares were dispatched. High winds and heavy seas ruled out helicopter support.

The Dutch tug Odin arrived and helped move three of Ayaz Bey's seven Turkish crew to the port of Mangalia. The other four stayed aboard, telling rescuers they did not need assistance. By later in the day, the Ayaz Bey had been stabilised and anchored at Mangalia with no casualties confirmed. The Mentor, now without a tow, drifted into Bulgarian waters.

The incident adds to a string of losses and near-misses on Romania's Black Sea coast in recent weeks. The cargo ship Khoryv sank in the Black Sea east of Romania's coast in October after coming under attack. Earlier that same month, drones struck two tankers near Sulina, leaving seven sailors missing. Those attacks prompted Turkey's defence minister to call for Russia and Ukraine to stop targeting commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

The Ayaz Bey is a 36-meter tug built in 1981 and operated by Istanbul-based PGE Tugs. The Mentor had no crew aboard at the time of the collision.