Amendments to Maritime Traffic Regulations

14 Dec 2023 / Turkish Straits, Turkey

The following amendments will be applied to Maritime Traffic Regulations for the Turkish Straits from 1 January 2024.

  • To ensure safety of navigation, life and property:
    - Tug towing power has been increased from 45 tons to 60 tons in towed passages between 150-175 meters; and
    - All ships with a full length of 200 meters to 250 meters and ships carrying dangerous cargoes with a full length of more than 150 meters are obliged to take a tugboat during the passage of the Bosphorus.

  • To support cruise tourism, facilitating provisions have been introduced for the establishment of a commission under the Çanakkale Regional Port Authority for the port visits of passenger ships with a full length of 300 meters or more in the Bosphorus and for the ships to be able to perform their departure maneuvers even at night.

  • Since the additional transit conditions determined by the "Commission" established within the Directive for certain types of failures are the same (pilot, tugboat power and number, daytime transit, etc.) and in order to prevent loss of time and to make transits faster, the requirement of establishing a Commission has been eliminated by detailing the cases where technical qualifications are lost.

  • A provision has been added for remote surveys to be conducted remotely.

  • The term "Chief Maritime Traffic Operator" referred to in the Directive has been added to the definitions article.

  • The definition of "critical areas" has been revised in line with the opinions of the Directorate General of Coastal Safety.

For information about operations in the Turkish Straits, contact GAC Turkey at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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