Raging forest fires and the engine failure of a tanker carrying crude from Russia have disrupted traffic in the Turkish Straits, a key waterway linking the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
The problems began late on Tuesday when wildfires broke out at the Dardanelles, the southern part of the straits.
The blaze near the port of Canakkale led Turkish authorities to suspend ship traffic in the area because it could pose a danger to firefighting planes lifting water from the sea, they explained.
Coastguards were initially hoping to resume Dardanelles traffic at least in the north-south direction. As the blaze continued to rage unchecked, however, they reinstated the block in both directions as of 03.15 local time (00.15 GMT).
The situation in the straits got worse on Wednesday, when an aframax loaded with crude from Russia suffered a engine failure off the Turkeli Lighthouse near the Bosphorus — the north entry of the Turkish straits.
Local coastguards announced that two tugboats were promptly directed to assist the 109,900-dwt Guanyin (built 2005) — a vessel they said was underway from Russia to China.
“Ship traffic, two-way, has been temporarily suspended,” the coastguards said. After about two hours, Bosphorus traffic resumed at 11.20 local time but only from south to north.
Vessel trackers currently show the Guanyin in the Black Sea, just outside the northern mouth of the Bosphorus, where it was safely anchored at the Turkeli anchorage area.
S&P Global Markets list the vessel with UAE-based Koban Shipping, a frequent buyer of older tankers that are subsequently employed in the Russian oil trade.
Vessel trackers indicate the Guanyin loaded earlier this month at the Russian port of Kavkaz.
