Dardanelles Strait News

Maritime traffic from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara has been suspended due to the ongoing forest fire in the Turkish northwestern province of Canakkale, the transport ministry and a shipping agency said on Tuesday."The traffic at Dardanelles was suspended for both directions on Tuesday at 18:45 (1545 GMT) hours due to the aircraft intervening in the forest fire in the region by safely taking water from the sea," Tribeca shipping agency said.The Dardanelles Strait, a narrow and historically significant passage connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea…

Ship traffic at Turkey's Dardanelles Strait is set to resume after a brief suspension due to a vessel's engine failure, the Tribeca Shipping Agency said on Friday.Northbound traffic will resume at 1500 GMT and southbound traffic will resume at 1545 GMT, it said. Traffic was suspended in both directions at 1335 GMT.The vessel whose engine failed was proceeding to the strait exit with two tug escorts, it said in an earlier not.(Reuters - Reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Alex Richardson and Louise Heavens)

The number of tankers waiting to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean fell to 13 on Monday from 17 a day earlier, the Tribeca shipping agency said, showing an easing of the recent build-up in traffic.A Turkish measure in force since the start of the month has caused shipping delays. It requires vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus Strait or when calling at Turkish ports. Five tankers were scheduled to go through the Bosphorus southbound on Monday, Tribeca said.

One more tanker took to 20 on Friday the number of vessels waiting in the Black Sea to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean, the Tribeca shipping agency said, amid talks to disperse the build-up.On Thursday, dismissing pressure from abroad over the lengthening queue, Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked the appropriate insurance letters, and it needed time for checks.Eight tankers were also waiting for passage through the Dardanelles strait into the Mediterranean…

Turkey's maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don't carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a "routine procedure".The logjam is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as the G7 and European Union introduce a price cap on Russian oil.Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.Here are key facts about the issue.Ships typically have protection & indemnity (P&I) insurance…

A Turkish bulk carrier is expected to arrive in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk on Friday and will be the first vessel to arrive at a Ukrainian port during Russia's invasion, a spokesperson for the regional administration of Odesa said."The Turkish bulk carrier Osprey S, flying the flag of Liberia, is heading from the Dardanelles Strait to the port of Chornomorsk," Serhiy Bratchuk, the spokesperson, wrote on Telegram late on Wednesday."This will be the first vessel that has not been blocked in our ports since February 24, heading to (collect) Ukrainian export grain," he said.As of Thursday afternoon, Osprey S was anchored in the Sea of Marmara, around 1 kilometer (0.62 mile) off Istanbul's Asian coast, along with other ships waiting to cross the Bosphorus in to the Black Sea, a

A ship carrying two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats designed to beef up the Ukrainian Navy transited the Dardanelles strait on Saturday days after Ukraine said it feared Russia might be preparing an attack on it.The ship carrying the two Island-class patrol boats departed Baltimore for the Ukrainian port of Odessa on November 8. Ukrainian sailors have already undergone extensive training on the vessels in the United States. Ukraine got two similar vessels in 2019.The two new boats are part of a security package to Ukraine worth over $2.5 billion since 2014…

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) began its north-bound transit of the Dardanelles Strait, en route to the Black Sea Feb. 19 to conduct maritime security operations and enhance regional maritime stability, combined readiness, and naval capability with our NATO allies and partners in the region.The ship last visited the Black Sea in January 2019, during which it visited Batumi, Georgia and conducted an exercise with two Georgian Coast Guard ships. During its time in port the ship's crew was warmly received by their Georgian hosts and were greeted on the pier with an arrival ceremony that included a traditional Georgian dance."Each visit here affords us the unique opportunity to work with our regional maritime partners," said Cmdr.

Traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, an important international shipping lane for oil and grain, was suspended on Tuesday due to poor visibility and heavy rain, shipping agent GAC said. It said shipping was suspended at 830 am (0530 GMT). The Bosphorus is one of world's most important choke points for the maritime transit of oil, with over 3 percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It also carries large amounts of grains from Russia and Kazakhstan to world markets. Turkish authorities also closed Dardanelles strait to tankers longer than 200 metres after an oil tanker ran aground. Traffic was expected to resume from 0730 GMT onwards GAC said.

A snowstorm forced the closure of Turkey's key shipping straits and sweeping flight cancellations on Saturday, while hazardous roads left many drivers stranded overnight in Istanbul, a city of 15 million people. Turkish Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights in and out of the city's main Ataturk airport and state-run Anadolu news agency said dozens of planes were diverted to other airports because of the heavy snowfall, which began on Friday evening. About 6,000 of its passengers were transferred to hotels on Friday evening due to the cancellations and 20,000 meals were distributed to those stranded at the airport, Anadolu said. Pegasus Airlines cancelled some 200 flights in and out of Sabiha Gokcen airport, on the Asian side of the city.

Turkish coastguards found more than 300 refugees, mostly Syrians, when they seized a cargo ship they had opened fired on for failing obey an order to stop off Turkey's western coast, the regional governor said on Friday. Refugee trafficking in the seas around Turkey is a major problem. Turkey itself has kept its borders open to refugees since the start of Syria's civil war four years ago, and around 2 million people have fled across the frontier. Police arrested three crew and found the 337 immigrants after seizing the 59-meter-long vessel late on Thursday as it passed through the Dardanelles strait. The passengers were taken to a nearby sports hall for questioning and health checks, the local governor's office said.

Turkey shut its Dardanelles Strait to tankers and its flag carrier cancelled some domestic and international flights in and out of Istanbul due to a storm. The Dardanelles waterway is frequently forced to shut during the winter due to rough weather, usually at least two or three times a month. Five northbound and three southbound tankers waiting to pass through the Dardanelles were expected to be scheduled to do so on Tuesday, shipping agency GAC said. The Bosphorus Strait remained open. Connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits form one of the world's major energy shipping routes, with about 10,000 vessels carrying 150 million tonnes of oil and petroleum products on the waterways every year.

Prysmian to develop first-ever high-voltage submarine power link in Turkey to connect Asis and Europe across the Dardanelles Strait. The contract, worth € 67M, had been awarded to Prysmian by Teitas, the transmission utility company in Turkey. Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a contract worth a total of €67 million by the Turkish electricity transmission utility TEIAS for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a high voltage submarine power cable link to connect Europe and Asia across the Dardanelles strait in Turkey. Once completed, the link will be the first high voltage submarine power cable link ever in the country.