Turkey’s Dardanelles Strait closed for passage due to extreme weather

Turkey’s Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry on Nov. 28 announced that it closed the Dardanelles Strait to ship passage because of the storm in effect throughout the region.

Tuesday November 28 2023 08:20 pm

Duvar English

The Dardanelles Strait connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara was closed on Nov. 28 by Turkey’s Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry because of unfavorable weather conditions in the region.

The storm began in the early morning, which led the Ministry to close maritime traffic from both south and north directions from 3 p.m. onwards.

The regular ferry services between Çanakkale’s districts across the Dardanelle strait were also canceled. The Çanakkale-Kilitbayır, Çanakkale-Eceabat, and Lapseki-Gelibolu lines are suspended temporarily.

Extreme weather conditions have been in effect throughout Turkey since Nov. 18. The Black Sea region was especially overcome by the storm and Zonguldak province was declared a low-level disaster zone after waves damaged the shoreline and a cargo ship sank with its 12 crewmembers.

The Black Sea coastal highway was flooded on Nov. 27, and transportation halted between the provinces of Rize, Trabzon, and Giresun.

On Nov. 26, some coastal districts in the Aegean province İzmir also flooded due to rising sea levels.

The Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality issued a storm warning in the province beginning in the late hours of Nov. 28. Residents are encouraged to caution against flash floods and heavy winds.

The weather conditions are expected to continue throughout the week.