Turkish Straits comprise the Dardanelles (A), Sea of Marmara (B) and Bosphorus (c), and link the Aegean Sea (and therefore the Mediterranean Sea) with the Black Sea. The straits stand between Europe (to the west of the straits) and Asia (to the east of the straits). Across the Bosphorus is the 15 July Martyrs’ Bridge, also called theFirst Bosphorus Bridge. It is the largest of three suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait, linking Europe. The bridge is over 1.5 kilometres long and is 64 metres above sea level at its highest part. This means that ships should have an air draught of less than that to pass under the bridge.
Important cargoes that pass through these straits – Containers, oil, oil products; grain; minerals, steel. Note that the oil terminals on the Black Sea are important in terms of crude oil exports from Russia and other countries in the region. Some of the landlocked countries convey their oil exports to the coastal terminals via long pipelines. Grain from the Ukrainian and southern Russian grain-producing areas passes through these straits, Cargoes destined for many landlocked countries in eastern Europe are moved through the straits en route for trans-shipment to barges that take the cargoes up the Danube River. Among these cargoes are iron ore, coal and other minerals. South Africa exports iron ore to Constanta in Romania.
Because of the volume of cargo moving through the straits – and because the straits are the only channel through which millions of tons of cargo can move to or from the rest of the world, they are extremely important to all littoral Black Sea countries.
Times when the Straits were in the News – The invasion of the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine by Russian forces in 2015 emphasised the importance of the straits in the politics of the Black Sea region. Because of its importance exports from Black Sea terminals, the straits assume major economic, political and therefore military importance.
15 July Martyrs’ Bridge across the Bosphorus. Source of photograph unknown