An ongoing fire in Turkey’s Canakkale province has blocked traffic for a third day. The Dardanelles Strait was initially closed on Tuesday evening, 22 August to allow firefighters to collect seawater using planes and helicopters.
In the area surrounding the fire, the strait is the only available water supply. Aircraft are required to fly low to collect and dump water on the blaze, increasing the chances of collision with ships.
Trade Winds reports, the strait was reopened for a short time on Wednesday night, 23 August but closed again a few hours later. However, the Turkish coastguard announced one-way south-north traffic would resume today, 24 August at 11 a.m.
The Dardanelles is a vital shipping lane for vessels traveling between Europe and Asia. According to Bloomberg, by Wednesday afternoon 300 ships were waiting to cross the strait.
In a separate incident, vessel traffic in the Bosporus Strait was suspended temporarily yesterday when a tanker suffered engine problems. Lloyd's List reports that the Turkish coastguard helped repair the engine and the tanker was anchored on the western side of the Bosporus’ northern entrance. The Bosporous Strait reopened to traffic at 11:20 yesterday.
