From July 1, the Turkish authorities will increase the fees for the transit of merchant ships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to $4.42, the Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told journalists, Report informs.
Tariffs will now be reviewed annually on the basis of a presidential decree.
Since October last year, fees for the passage of ships through the straits have been $4.08 per net tonnage.
The minister recalled that since 1983, fees per net ton for foreign ships were calculated on the basis of the gold franc, which, according to the Montreux Convention of 1936, was equated to $0.8. In October 2022, the Turkish authorities revised these tariffs, increasing them to $4.08. As an example, Uraloglu cited the calculation of dues from a vessel with a net tonnage of 10,000. “Since October 7 last year, the fees from it amounted to $16,393; from July 1, the ship will pay $17,760,” he said.
Sources in Turkish transport agencies, commenting on the increase in fees, told TASS that it has no political overtones. “The decision to raise fees is purely technical and the Turkish authorities have previously said they can revise tariffs if necessary,” an industry official said.
