Tanker traffic in straits slows

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

This file photo shows an oil tanker going through the Bosphorus Strait. Hürriyet photo

Tanker traffic in the Bosphorus and Çankakkale straits has eased due to both a slowdown in the global economy and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which was constructed in 2006.

A total of 4,496 tankers and 24,092 ships entered the Bosphorus in the first six months of 2012, according to data from the Transportation, Maritime and Communication Ministry’s Coastal Security Headquarters. The geographical location, narrowness, strong currents and sharp turns of the 30-kilometer Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea, make it one of the world’s most crucial, but also most dangerous natural narrow waterways.

Tankers entering the Bosphorus carry 64.3 million tons of hazardous materials, while tankers entering the Çanakkale strait carry 76.9 million tons of such material, according to the data.

In 2007 106,519 ships passed through the Bosphorus and Çanakkale straits. This number dropped to 103,293 in 2008 and 95,177 in 2010.