Russian spy ship sinks after collision with cargo vessel off Turkey

A Russian navy ship and a cargo ship carrying livestock have both sunk in the Black Sea following a collision about 40 kilometres north of the Bosphorus Strait on Thursday, according to the Turkish coastguard.

Seventy-eight Russian military personnel were reported to have been evacuated from the stricken navy reconnaissance ship with some rescued from the water, Turkish media reported.

The Russian Defence Ministry said all 78 people aboard its ship were safe and that nobody had been injured among the crew.

The collision occurred in heavy fog.

The cargo ship, which was identified by a shipping agent as the Youzarsif H, was also reported to have sunk.

Russia's defence ministry identified the navy vessel as the Liman, a signals intelligence vessel in the Black Sea Fleet. It said the collision had punched a hole in the ship and that the crew were "fighting for the survivability of the vessel".

Russia also deployed an aircraft with search-and-rescue teams to the area.

Ship-tracking website Marinetraffic.com indicated that the Togo-registered Youzarsif H was en route from Midia in Romania to Aqaba in Jordan.

It is owned by Hammami Livestock, which is based in Tripoli in Lebanon and describes itself on its website as "one of the leading companies in livestock carriage in the Middle East".

According to Hammami Livestock's website, the Youzarsif H was built in Hamburg, Germany, in 1977 and converted for transporting livestock in 2013.

Middle East Eye called Hammami Livestock's offices in Lebanon and Turkey for comment but has not yet been able to speak to anyone from the company.