Azernews.Az

By Trend

The shipping channel in Istanbul is a project aimed at Turkey’s national security, former speaker of the Turkish parliament Binali Yildirim said, Trend reports with reference to the Turkish media.

He said that every year, 12,000 vessels pass through the Bosphorus, transporting over 140 million tons of oil.

“In case of collision of ships in the Bosphorus, serious environmental catastrophe may occur,” he noted. “The shipping channel in Istanbul is an alternative sea route.”

The intention to implement the project of construction of the Istanbul shipping channel was announced for the first time in 2011 by the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The length of the shipping channel in Istanbul will be 43 kilometers, and in the framework of the construction project, a special authority will also be created in order to control the operation of the channel after its commissioning.

The purpose of the construction of the Istanbul channel is to reduce the burden of shipping on the Bosphorus Strait, as well as to prevent the threat of environmental and man-made disasters on one of the most intense sea routes in the world.

The width of the Istanbul channel, according to plans, will be 400 meters, and its depth - 25 meters. The channel will be able to let pass 150-160 vessels per day.

The Bosphorus is used by an average of 150 vessels per day, of which about 30 are oil tankers. Annually about 150 million tons of oil and oil products are transported through the Black Sea Straits, while the throughput capacity of the Bosphorus is estimated at 200 million tons.