The Dardanelles Strait or Çanakkale Strait is a 62 km water channel through which it is allowed to connect the Aegean Sea with the Marmara Sea. Its width varies from 1.2 to 7 km. It is considered one of the narrowest in the world. Its average depth is 55 meters and its deepest part reaches more than 100 meters.
The Dardanelles is the only route where the Marmara Sea connects with the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean; for this reason it is very important for fishing, tourism and large-scale international trade.
Currently the Turkish government is in the process of building a suspension bridge. This will allow the passage of cars from the city of Sacay to the city of Kilitbahir. The work began in 2017.
History
The history of the Strait of Dardanelles dates back to ancient Greece, where it was of vital importance as the port of the city of Troy. Over the years it adhered to the dominions of the Persian, Macedonian and Roman empires.
Finally the Ottoman Empire arrived. The latter was sustained until the birth of the Turkish national republic in the second decade of the last century.
The legendary and mythical Greek story of Hero and Leander is set in the Strait of Dardanelles. It was also known as the presumed path through which the homo ergaster arrived from Africa to Europe, who formed what was the first human settlement on this continent.
Given its geostrategic importance, the Strait of Dardanelles has been the protagonist of great naval battles over time. As a consequence of the above, this strait has had to modify its legal status on several occasions.
Some of these modifications occurred at the time of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Turkish war, when the transit of military vessels to the Black Sea was limited. There were also alterations in the Crimean War, which generated a series of modifications to the treaties.
There was a time in the 20th century when a natural water channel and a name were the two great protagonists: the Dardanelles Strait and Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the victorious England of World War II.
Economic importance
In international relations Turkey is known as the heartland of the planet; that is to say, the heart of the world. This is so because it is right at the crossroads between the largest continents of Western culture.
Therefore, it would be well to consider the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosphorus as the two great arteries of the heartland. So, the Dardanelles Strait is vital for the economic and commercial development of the region.
To understand the economic importance of the Dardanelles, it is necessary to know the Turkish Straits System (TSS). Through the Straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles, this system interconnects the adjacencies of the Aegean, Marmara and Black Seas.
Therefore, the transit through this road from the commercial point of view is vital for the interconnection of the region in a faster and safer way. The Turkish Straits system is a complex dynamic system supplying water, mass, heat and materials between these domains.
Dardanelles and military activities
During the 20th century the Turkish Straits have witnessed two world wars and the tension of the Cold War.
Likewise, nearly 30 years ago the Soviet Navy in the Black Sea was the main threat to NATO's strategic security alliance around these waters. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, an increase in the transport of energy through these channels has been promoted.
The main cargoes of the vessels consist of energy resources such as oil and natural gas from the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
Additionally, there are supplies of tanker ships full of crude sailing through the straits to the northwest of the Black Sea, seeking the markets of Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.
Apart from energy resources, there are also many products such as grain and steel, which are being exported from the riparian countries to the Black Sea. In fact, these vessels make up the majority of the vessels in transit that pass through the straits.
Dangers
Precisely due to the amount of traffic generated by this step, it entails a series of threats and negative consequences for both human beings and from an environmental point of view.
Heavy traffic has been one of the strongest threats to the straits, since it affects the safety of the riparian population and the preservation of the marine environment.
There are also strong currents; sometimes they exceed the speed of 6 knots. In addition, there are countercurrents, winds, fog and storms; these phenomena are combined with narrow passages and with sharp alterations in directions due to critical turns. All this makes Dardanelo one of the most dangerous channels in the world.
In 2003 the Turkish government made provisions to avoid accidents. Specifically, the Ministry of Transport established a complex traffic system that encompasses the Straits of Dardanelle, Bosphorus and Marmara. Its objective is to facilitate the passage of ships through the strait.
In addition to the dangers that cause accidents, the impact of pollution by maritime traffic in a limited space, such as straits, must also be evaluated.
References
- Alpar, B. (1999) Origin of the Strait of Canakkale (Dardanelles): regional tectonics and the Mediterranean – Marmara incursion. Recovered at: www.researchgate.net
- Bell, CM (2017) Churchill and the Dardanelles: Oxford University Press. Recovered in: libgen.io
- Ozsoy, E. (2018) Turkish Straits System (TSS) Forecasting System Development for the Black Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Center (BS-MFC) of the Copernicus Marine Environment and Monitoring Service (CMEMS): EGU General Assembly 2018 © Author (s) 2018. Recovered at: meetingorganizer.copernicus.org
- Ozturk, B. and Ozkan, R. (2012) THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SYMPOSIUM ON THE STRAITS USED FOR INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION: Turkish Marines Research Foundation. Recovered at: openaccess.dogus.edu.tr
- Van Hartesveldt, FR (1997) The Dardanelles Campaign, 1915: historiography and annotated Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Recovered in: libgen.io