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16 Jul 2016 / Turkey

Coup attempt impact on shipping

Following an attempted military coup in Turkey last night (Friday 15 July), tanker transits through the Bosphorus have been cancelled for safety and security reasons. Currently, only non-IMO cargo carriers (bulkers, RoRo, reefer, etc) are being allowed to transit.

Tanker traffic in the Bosphorus is expected to resume, as VTS has fixed the southbound trasnit of an Aframax for 14:00 hours today.

Masters of vessels in the Turkish Straits and Marmara Sea are advised to stay in touch with VTS and act in line with their instructions.

The attempted coup became apparent late last night when reports started coming in of tanks being positioned on key bridges in Istanbul. Armed forces were seen in the capital Ankara a short time later, and military jets started flying over the city, followed by part of the army declaring a curfew and martial law. There were also reports of explosions near Istanbul's central Taksim Square and the parliament building in Ankara.

The coup attempt appears to have failed and GAC Turkey advises that the situation is largely under control. However, transportation is being affected negatively - especially in Istanbul and Ankara.

As a result of flight delays and cancellations at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, GAC Turkey urges ship owners or operators to check with them before sending crew to Turkey.

Further, the clearance of the spare parts will be delayed until the operations at the airport are back to normal.

For information about operations in Turkey contact GAC Turkey at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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