Navigation regime in the Turkish straits for merchant ships in peacetime: Safety, environmental protection and high politics

The strategically and politically important Turkish Straits have in recent years seen great increases in the volume and size of shipping traffic. Several serious tanker accidents in these navigationally difficult waters have fed genuine Turkish safety and environmental protection concerns. This article examines Turkeyʹs proposals for IMO-adopted measures in the Straits to meet these problems and the measures actually adopted. It then examines the new Turkish national traffic regulations and the guidance on their implementation and assesses their compatibility with both the IMO measures and applicable international law, including the 1936 Montreux Convention.