Shipping Traffic Resumes in Bosphorus Strait

Traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, an important international shipping lane for oil and grain, resumed on Thursday after a brief suspension triggered by a bulk carrier suffering an engine malfunction, shipping agent GAC said.

GAC said the Marshall Islands-flagged, 225-metre vessel, identified as M/V Anna Smile Forward, had engine malfunction, forcing the transit traffic in the strait to be closed at 12.25 am (0925 GMT).

Coastal safety tugs were deployed to help the vessel and the traffic was back to normal at 1540 (1140 GMT).

The Bosphorus is one of world's most important choke points for the maritime transit of oil, with over 3 percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It also carries large amounts of grains from Russia and Kazakhstan to world markets.

 

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk