Turkey is restricting the movement of commercial vessels toward the Black Sea amid an increase in the number of attacks on them in the region. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources, writes UNN.
Details
According to the publication’s sources, the Turkish Coast Guard Command informed several vessels heading to the port of Novorossiysk (Russia), a key oil and grain export hub, that it is currently not issuing transit permits for such voyages or is taking more time to review applications to pass through the Dardanelles Strait.
In addition, according to the sources, some vessels were informed that the restriction also applies to ships heading to Ukraine.
The sources noted that the Turkish side provided no explanation for the move.
The Turkish Coast Guard Command referred questions to the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in Ankara
Bloomberg notes that, according to vessel-tracking data as of 1:00 p.m. local time, vessels heading to Bulgarian or Turkish ports continued moving north through the Dardanelles.
This week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that several crew members, including Turkish citizens, were injured as a result of drone attacks on two Turkish vessels.