From October 7 this year, the Turkish authorities are planning to increase the cost of fees for the passage of merchant ships through the Bosporus and Dardanelles by five times. This will allow the country to increase annual revenues from $40 million to $200 million, the newspaper said. Sabah citing sources in the Turkish Ministry of Transport on Monday, August 29.
It is indicated that the increase in fees, in particular for the lighthouse, medical care, evacuation of merchant ships, is provided for by the Montreux Convention of 1936, which regulates navigation in the straits.
The publication claims that by eliminating the old system of collecting fees, which was introduced in 1983, the “injustice” that Turkey has faced for 39 years will be eliminated.
The newspaper recalls that the fees, even at the signing of the Montreux Convention, were determined in French francs, which amounted to $ 0.80. Over time, due to inflation and the rise in the price of gold, fees were almost reduced to a minimum. In this regard, the cost of fees, estimated in francs, was increased five times – up to $4.
Recall that last week a tanker with Russian oil had an accident in the Dardanelles. The 140-meter tanker Karakuz, en route from Russia to Greece, collided with a boat carrying two people.
