Verkehr auf dem Bosporus
Traffic on the Turksih Strait: The Bosphorus

05:00 Min., n-tv - auslandsreport January 2008

The Bosporus or Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, is a strait that forms the boundary between the European part (Rumelia) of Turkey and its Asian part (Anatolia). The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea). It is approximately 30 km long, with a maximum width of 3,700 metres at the northern entrance, and a minimum width of 700 metres between Kandilli and Asiyan; and 750 metres between Anadoluhisar and Rumelihisar. The depth varies from 36 to 124 metres in midstream. The shores of the strait are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul (with a metropolitan area in excess of 18 million inhabitants) straddles it.

The Strait of Istanbul is a narrow "S-shaped" channel of complex nature with several sharp turns and headlands, which prevent a proper look-out, and with changing currents. Such geographical and oceanographic conditions make the navigation, open to international shipping, very difficult and risky.

The density of maritime traffic in Bosphorus, which link Black Sea to Marmara Sea, has increased eleven-fold from around 4,400 ships passing annually in 1936, when Montreux Convention was signed to regulate transit and navigation in the Straits, to an average of 48,000 vessels per year recently. With 132 vessels transit daily, not including local traffic.

The program describes the diffrent form of the traffic, the daily transit of vessels guided by the Istanbuler pilots, the fishermen on the shore and other forms of local traffic.

The fishermen are affraid of the tanker not guided by pilots and they fear incidents of these big ships.

For example November 10, 2003 - a Georgian flagged cargo ship ran aground off Anadolufeneri and broke into two pieces. Around 500 tons of oil spilled and caused pollution.