TURKEY tr-diplomacy
Navigation treaty raises doubts over PM's Istanbul Canal
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News | 4/28/2011 12:00:00 AM |
The impact of a proposed new canal through western Istanbul on a key shipping treaty was up for debate Thursday, with Turkish diplomatic officials rushing to defend the plan a day after the prime minister announced it.
The impact of a proposed new canal through western Istanbul on a key shipping treaty was up for debate Thursday, with Turkish diplomatic officials rushing to defend the plan a day after the prime minister announced it.
In announcing the project Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the new canal would relieve dangerous tanker traffic on the overcrowded Bosphorus Strait by creating a new shipping route between the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea.
The proposal will likely launch a new international debate over the implementation of the Montreux Treaty, a key and much-discussed document that allows ships from Black Sea coastal countries to navigate freely through the Turkish straits.
“We have no idea about the details of the project, but we are sure that Turkish authorities will not take any step that could restrict the right of free navigation through the straits,” a diplomat from one of the coastal countries told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday.
Signed in 1936, the treaty strictly regulates the passages of commercial and military vessels from the Turkish straits, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, which has from time to time caused problems between Turkey and other signatories, particularly Russia, which says Turkey’s strict regulation of the use of the straits slows the passage of tankers.
Diplomats from the coastal countries the Daily News contacted Thursday said they were unaware of the details of the project, but expressed concerns that Turkey could force the tankers to use the canal instead of the straits for a fee.
“This law [the Montreux Treaty] is only valid for the straits and not for artificial sea passages, like the proposed one for Istanbul,” a Turkish diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told the Daily News.
“Of course, there are universal rules implemented for passages through manmade canals. They will be valid for the Istanbul Canal as well. Countries could be asked for transit fees,” the diplomat said, adding that ships can pass through the straits for free but sometimes have to wait for days due to weather conditions or heavy traffic.
“If the companies have money and do not want to wait, they could use the second canal after paying the fee,” the diplomat said. “We are of the opinion that many tankers would use the canal, which would of course reduce the traffic on the strait.”
Turkey’s former Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım dismissed claims that Turkey would force other countries to use the new canal but said, “New incentives would be created” for its use. “We have no intention to block the passages through the straits,” he told the Daily News.