Turkey's revenue from ship transit through the Bosphorus Strait could fall fivefold because of Ukrainian armed forces attacks on vessels in the Black Sea, according to Mustafa Can, chairman of the board of directors of the shipping company Transbosphor Denizcilik. His comments were cited by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Can said 90 percent of anchorage spots in the Sea of Marmara are already full with ships unable to pass into the Black Sea. He warned this backlog could trigger an environmental disaster if tankers waiting at anchor were to leak.
Traffic Has Collapsed
Can said that an average of 200 ships used to pass through the Bosphorus daily, but that number has dropped to just 30 to 40. He described the Black Sea as effectively emptied of shipping traffic.
He said Turkey's revenue from the Bosphorus had exceeded 800 million dollars and was approaching 1 billion dollars, but forecast that the current crisis would push revenue down to 200 million dollars, an amount that would only cover costs.
Turkish-Flagged Ships Among Those Hit
Over a four-month period, Ukraine struck at least 206 ships, of which 40 belonged to Turkish owners or sailed under the Turkish flag, according to Can. He said that if the crisis continues for another three to four months, Turkey's entire merchant fleet would be lost and scrapped.
The Bosphorus and the neighboring Dardanelles Strait are the only sea route linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, making them a critical corridor for shipping to and from Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian and other Black Sea ports. Since July, Turkish authorities have raised the cost of transit through the two straits to 6.7 dollars per ton, plus a 15 percent surcharge.
Ankara Seeks Talks With Moscow and Kyiv
The Turkish capital, Ankara, is holding talks with both Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to preserve the safety of maritime transport in the Black Sea.
Ihsan Sefa, a retired Turkish air force colonel and former military attache, said Turkish authorities need to restrict passage through the straits for ships connected to Ukraine.
