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Almost 80 Russian Navy sailors were rescued off the coast of Turkey Thursday when a military intelligence ship collided with a freighter carrying livestock.

The Turkish coastal safety authority said the Russian ship, identified as the "Liman." collided with the Togo-flagged "Youzarsif H."

The Russian reconnaissance ship Liman, pictured here in 2016 before it sank. Murad Sezer / Reuters

The Liman is a former research vessel that the Russian navy has retro-fitted into a reconnaissance ship.

Turkish shipping agency GAC said that the collision was caused due to fog and low visibility 18 miles from Kilyos village, on the Black Sea coast just north of Istanbul.

According to the Turkish coastal authority website, a tugboat was dispatched along with three fast rescue vessels to bring the Russian sailors to safety.

In total, 78 were rescued and there were no injuries reported on the freighter.

Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, which cuts through Istanbul, is one of the world's most important waterways for transit of oil and grains. The 17-mile waterway connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.