ISTANBUL - The number of tankers waiting to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean fell to 13 on Monday from 17 a day earlier, the Tribeca shipping agency said, showing an easing of the recent build-up in traffic.
A Turkish measure in force since the start of the month has caused shipping delays. It requires vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus Strait or when calling at Turkish ports.
Five tankers were scheduled to go through the Bosphorus southbound on Monday, Tribeca said. The number of ships waiting in the Black Sea to pass through the strait had stood at 20 on Friday.
The average waiting time for tankers decreased to 2.8 days from 4.2 days a day earlier, the Tribeca data indicated. Average waiting time peaked at above 6 days last week.
On Sunday, Turkey's maritime authority said four tankers, carrying some 475,000 tonnes of oil, had provided the necessary insurance letters according to regulations, facilitating their passage through the strait on Monday.
In a statement, the authority also said it removed five oil tankers from the country's territorial waters via the Dardanelles Strait, further south than the Bosphorus, as they could not provide confirmation letters for their insurance.
At the Dardanelles, two tankers were scheduled to pass through southbound on Monday, while seven tankers were waiting to be scheduled, Tribeca said.