91998E3599

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3599/98

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council

(4 December 1998)

Subject: Impediments to freedom of passage through the Straits

Freedom of passage through the Bosphorus Straits is guaranteed by the Treaty of Montreux and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Despite this Turkey is taking unilateral measures to control the passage of shipping through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, on the pretext of ensuring the safety of the Straits. In fact the Turkish Government Journal recently published a new regulation on the passage of shipping through the Straits which has already entered into force. This regulation seeks to create additional impediments for the passage of oil tankers, thus indirectly using blackmail to dictate the route of the planned oil pipeline from the Caspian.

If Turkey is genuinely interested in the safe passage of shipping it could resolve a number of outstanding problems. For example, it could remove two large shipwrecks on the southern coast of the Straits which impede the passage of large vessels, or improve the Vessel Traffic Services System (VTS) which does not work effectively: large ships with dangerous cargoes pass each other in the Straits. It could also change the anchorage place of shipping which is in very deep waters and is also very exposed to adverse weather conditions.

What action does the Council intend to take to prevail upon Turkey to cease its efforts to upset the status quo of freedom of passage through the Straits and instead to improve safety conditions there?

Reply

(30 March 1999)

Article 35(c) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea excludes from the scope of Part III "straits in which passage is regulated in whole or in part by long-standing international conventions in force specifically relating to such straits". This is the case with regard to the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, where passage is regulated by the Treaty of Montreux of 20 July 1936.

On 25 May 1994 the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted a traffic separation scheme containing specific rules on shipping in the Straits. Turkey accepted the recommendations.

Turkish regulations to implement the scheme came into force at the end of 1994. Among other things, they provide that the Turkish Minister for Maritime Affairs may temporarily suspend shipping in the Straits for various specific and clearly defined reasons.

Discussions have since been going on at the IMO about the compatibility of these rules with the traffic separation scheme established by the IMO and with the Treaty of Montreux. The Council recalls the principle of freedom of passage and navigation in the Straits and supports all efforts that will lead to satisfactory practices in this matter.