Turkey's Bosporus Choke Point

Home , Bosporus, Choke point

Water flows southward through the neither is a member of the Organization Bosporus from the Black Sea to the Medi- of Petroleum Exporting Countries terranean Sea. Currents in the strait can (OPEC), the international oil cartel, the be strong, moving at five to seven knots. United States particularly is interested in This further complicates ships’ passages Caspian basin oil. The problem is in how through the strait, greatly increasing the to get it to the Mediterranean and beyond. danger of collision or grounding. There are two proposed pipeline Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with routes. The route supported by the oil 9.5 million people, lies at the southern company Chevron and Russia goes north end of the strait on the west bank. A large from Kazakhstan around along the east arched bridge crossing the Bosporus was shore of the Caspian Sea. From there, it built in 1973. turns westward across Russia to TURKEY’S The Bosporus is a major commercial Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. The ad- artery between the Black Sea and the Medi- vantage of this route is that it is the short- BOSPORUS terranean Sea for Romania, Bulgaria, Rus- est route from Kazakhstan to the Black sia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Sea. The major disadvantage, of course, is CHOKE POINT Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. that when the oil is loaded onto tankers at Turkey controls the Bosporus, one of These countries are located either adja- Novorossiysk, they must navigate the the world’s most important and danger- cent to the Black Sea or connected to it by Bosporus to get to the Mediterranean. ous choke points. Now a new threat looms waterways. Consequently, an average of This route also places Russia in control of as oil tanker traffic through this narrow 50,000 commercial ships pass through the the pipeline, a major U.S. concern. strait may soon double or triple as oil Bosporus annually, according to the New The pipeline route preferred by BP exports from the Caspian Sea basin in- York Times. Amoco, Turkey and the United States crease. At the Straits Convention in 1841, would require oil from Kazakhstan and The Bosporus strait is treacherous, world powers decreed that war ships Turkmenistan to be moved by pipeline requiring large oil tankers to use the en- could not pass through the Bosporus with- and barge to Baku on the western side of tire width of the waterway to make two of out Turkey’s permission. Other treaties the Caspian. There the oil would be loaded the 12 course changes into a pipeline run- necessary to navigate A Tight Fit ning through its length. Other ships Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to the must wait, creating UKRAINE congestion on both KAZAKHSTAN Mediterranean port ROMANIA ends of the strait as RUSSIA at Ceyhan, Turkey. ships queue up to The Baku- Ceyhan route would enter. Sea Tengiz Aral BULGARIA B n bypass the Bosporus. On average, 15 lack Novorossiysk ia Sea p With an extension large oil tankers navi- Istanbul Se s a a along the eastern gate the Bosporus C Caspian, it would daily traveling be- Bosporus tween the Black Sea Baku have the added ad- and the Mediterra- TURKEY Turkmenbashi vantage of serving nean Sea, according GEORGIA TURKMENISTAN more countries in a Ceyhan larger region than to a New York Times AZERBAIJAN article printed in Chevron’s proposed Denver’s Star Tri- Mediterranean northern pipeline. IRAQ IRAN bune (Feb 4). The ar- Sea However, it would ticle provided new in- also run through the sights into Turkey’s 0 250 mi Oil Moved politically volatile Caucasus region. Bosporus dilemma 0 250 km By Tanker with a headline, The Bosporus al- Geography in the News 03/30/01 ©2001 maps.com “Turks fear disaster ready is one of the as oil flows through Bosporus.” opened the strait to all ships, although world’s busiest choke points. The poten- The Bosporus is less than a half-mile Turkey has maintained control of its ac- tial for increased oil tanker traffic doubles (800 m.) wide at its narrowest point, but cess since 1936 for national security and concerns. Environmental, economic and the channel is much narrower and very maritime safety. political decisions collide on the issue of tricky. The strait is 17 miles long (27.4 The Caspian Sea basin is an oil-rich transporting Caspian oil to world mar- km.). Turkey requires only the largest of region, resembling the Persian Gulf in kets. ships to use pilots from the Turkish Mari- geologic structure. New petroleum re- And that is Geography in the News. time Pilots Association members to guide sources were discovered in Kazakhstan March 30, 2001. #565. and Turkmenistan on the eastern side of them through. Others may choose to navi- (The author is a Professor of Geography the Caspian. Because these countries were gate the strait without help. at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.) once part of the Soviet Union and since