SS Üsküdar was built by F. Schichau Shipyard in Elbing, Germany in 1927 with funnel number 72. She was the first of two identical vessels the Turkish urban transportation company Şirket-i Hayriye commissioned in the Republican era.[1]
She was 33m (108feet) long with a beam of 6.6m (21.7feet) and a draft of 2m (07feet). Three steam engines of 350shp propelled her initially at 10kn, which later dropped to 8kn.[1]
SS Üsküdar was capable of carrying 344 passengers. 430 lifejackets, 35 lifebuoys and two lifeboats were on board the ferry.[1]
SS Üsküdar was on scheduled shuttle trips on the Sea of Marmara between İzmit and Değirmendere, a town on the southern coast of the Gulf of İzmit.[1]
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.[1]
As the ferry headed to Değirmendere, high waves raised by the storm blowing at 130km/h rocked the small vessel. The bridge 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.[1]
26 minutes from her departure, SS Üsküdar careened over on the port side and sank at 12:53 local time. 272 people died including 38 students and seven crew. 37 passengers and two crew survived the disaster.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Eight days after the incident, the Turkish Navy 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 35m (115feet) deep seabed. Four corpses were recovered. It was observed that at some places, the steel sheets of the ship's hull were torn.[1]