İSTANBULMAKS Project to Prevent Ship Accidents in the Bosphorus

The latest ship accident in the Bosphorus has once again opened the security problem of the Istanbul Strait to debate. Saim Oğuzülgen, Director of the Bahçeşehir University (BAU) Turkish Straits Application and Research Center, explained the details of the İSTANBULMAKS project developed in response to ship accidents in the straits.

The İSTANBULMAKS project, prepared under the leadership of Saim Oğuzülgen, Director of the Bahçeşehir University Turkish Straits Application and Research Center, has put forward a draft of precautions against ship accidents in the Bosphorus. While under the Turkish Straits Maritime Traffic Regulations there is no obligation for ships making non-stop transits through the Turkish straits to carry a pilot, the project draws attention to the need for transiting ships to carry a pilot. The project also proposes that ships passing through the Çanakkale and Istanbul straits should be under 200 meters in length, have twin engines and propellers, and have a propeller system that can rotate 360 degrees and also act as a rudder (twin engine room).

"TWIN ENGINES AND TWIN RUDDERS PREVENT BREAKDOWNS"

Giving information about the İSTANBULMAKS project, Saim Oğuzülgen drew attention to the importance of twin engine rooms and pilots on ships, saying: "When the mass is large, it is harder to keep that mass under control. If it had been a twin-engine ship, the damage in the waterfront mansion accident would have been minimized." Noting that twin engines and twin rudders on ships would eliminate engine failures, Oğuzülgen said: "Ships generally have a single engine, propeller and rudder. We say that with twin engines and twin rudders, engine failure is eliminated. This ship had an engine failure and hit the mansion. If it had had twin engines, the damage to the mansion would have been less."

Stating that ship sizes should be reduced and their functions increased, Oğuzülgen said: "Within the project, we are not saying that ships that regularly pass through the Istanbul Strait will no longer be able to pass. We are saying that special measures should be taken during ship transits. Ships should take on a pilot, and coastal safety should escort the ship."

Thanks to the project, it will be possible to measure the risk level carried by ships approaching the Istanbul Strait from any direction, to calculate the risks created not only by a single ship but by all ships together in the area, and to produce interactive risk maps for each based on the shape of the coastline. The project, whose simulation studies are ongoing, will be submitted to the relevant ministries once completed.

Details of the İSTANBULMAKS ship type project:

According to two separate scenarios prepared within the project, a southbound ship carrying a pilot in an area without traffic flow has an accident risk of 2.6 percent at 200 meters in length, 3 percent at 230 meters and 3.1 percent at 250 meters, while a ship coming from the same direction without a pilot in an area with traffic flow carries a risk of 0.9 percent at 200 meters, 2 percent at 230 meters and 3.2 percent at 250 meters.