Vessel traffic through Türkiye’s Dardanelles (Çanakkale) Strait was suspended in both directions on 19 November from 07:00 to 18:00 local time for test activities under an underwater security project implemented by Türkiye’s Defence Industry Agency, according to a notice circulated via the Turkish Straits information channel for Canakkale traffic. The announcement stated that “traffic will be suspended for both sides vessels…from 07:00 hrs until 18:00 hrs” as part of the “Project to Ensure Underwater Security in the Straits”.
The closure covered northbound and southbound passages through the Dardanelles, the southern segment of the Turkish Straits connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and, via the Bosphorus, the Black Sea.
The Dardanelles typically handles at least around 100 vessel transits per day and is a key route for crude, oil products, grain, fertilisers and minerals moving between the Black Sea and global markets. Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu recently reported that 33,026 ships transited the Çanakkale Strait in the first nine months of 2025, and 62,736 passed through the Turkish Straits overall.
