Passage of Ships to Black Sea Continues Smoothly, Turkish Officials Say

Reuters

Commercial ship at black sea.

Commercial vessels are continuing to pass smoothly through Türkiye's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Black Sea despite heightened security concerns, two Turkish government officials told Reuters on Sunday.

The comments came after Bloomberg News reported on Saturday that Ankara had restricted commercial shipping entering the Black Sea following a series of attacks on vessels in the region, including Turkish-owned ships.

Türkiye has repeatedly urged both Russia and Ukraine to safeguard maritime navigation in the Black Sea, warning that continued attacks on civilian shipping pose a serious threat to regional security.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara had called on both Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a moratorium on attacks in the Black Sea in an effort to improve maritime safety.

The Turkish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Ankara had introduced temporary precautionary measures in response to ongoing security concerns. However, they stressed that commercial transit through the Turkish straits continues in accordance with the provisions of the 1936 Montreux Convention. They did not provide further details on the measures.

The Montreux Convention grants Türkiye authority over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles and gives it the power to regulate the passage of naval warships. It also guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels during peacetime while limiting the transit of warships belonging to non-Black Sea states.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Türkiye has sought to maintain diplomatic relations with both Moscow and Kyiv. While it has declined to join Western sanctions against Russia, Ankara has continued to provide military assistance to Ukraine, including equipment from its own defence inventory.



PUKMEDIA