A Cause for Worry:

The Bosporus' high rate of passage is wonderful in terms of trade. It is just one more piece of evidence to show the prosperity in the region. But in terms of safety it is less than wonderful. In the last ten years there have been more that 150 serious accidents in the Bosporus making the water and the shores unsafe for both boaters and civilians.

This safety issue has been a major cause for outcry in Turkey in recent years to increase passage regulations on larger ships. The Turks are somewhat relieved (though still not pleased that accidents are still happening at all) to point out that most accidents have been a result of non-Turkish vessels choosing not to hire a pilot, trained for navigating the unpredictable Bosporus, to guide them through. Turkey has pilots on call at all times for this purpose, yet many, especially Russians, who are still somewhat bitter about their already limited usage of the straits, still choose not to take advantage of the service. No ship is obligated to. The Montreaux Convention explicitly states "Pilotage and Towage remain optional" (Chelminsky, 114) Turkey cannot change this law without revising the entire Montreaux Convention, and for this the environment and Turks are suffering. These many accidents, collisons where oil is spilled, boats running aground, have contributed to the loss of fish species in the water and have also been the cause of many deaths.

Here is a list of some of the more recent accidents that have occurred on the Bosporus:

• 1979: Greek cargo ship hits Rumanian Tanker causing an explosion and spilling 95,000 tons of oil onto the Bosporus where it remained, burning for almost 2 months before it could be put out.
• 1988: A Panamanian Tanker spills large amounts of ammonia into the water causing inconceivable environmental damage.
• 1991, November: The Philippine Madonna Lily crashes into and sinks the Lebanese livestock carrier, drowning 21,000 sheep and leaving their carcasses floating in the water for days.
• 1994, March: The cargo Ship Broker and the tanker Nassia run into each other spilling crude oil and causing a fire which burns the Nassia and 29 crew members to death.
• 1996: A Russian ship runs into shore, destroying the facade of two historical Turkish villas.

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