Turkey restricts some Black Sea ship traffic amid security concerns

Turkey is restricting some commercial vessels from entering the Black Sea amid growing concern over Russian and Ukrainian attacks on merchant shipping, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The move is affecting some ships heading to Russia’s Novorossiysk and may also apply to vessels bound for Ukraine.

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Turkey’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety has told several ships heading to Novorossiysk, a major Russian oil and grain export hub, that it is either not issuing transit permits for such voyages at present or needs additional time to review applications for passage through the Dardanelles Strait, according to Bloomberg.


Authorities have not provided a reason for the move, the report said. The people cited by Bloomberg asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Some vessels have also been told that the restriction applies to ships travelling to Ukraine.

The delays are limiting some vessel movements into the Black Sea at a time when attacks on merchant ships, including Turkish-owned vessels, have increased.

The Directorate General of Coastal Safety referred Bloomberg’s questions to Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. The ministry did not respond to email or phone requests for comment outside normal business hours.

Ships travelling to other Black Sea destinations appeared to be operating normally. Vessels heading to ports in Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey continued north through the Dardanelles on Saturday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earlier this week, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said several Turkish citizens were injured in drone attacks on two Turkish-owned vessels.

“We reiterate our call to all relevant actors, especially the warring parties, to urgently implement concrete measures to ensure navigational safety in the Black Sea,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that escalation would have “multifaceted negative consequences,” including for food security.

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The latest development follows other attacks around Novorossiysk. Last month, a Turkish ship was hit near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil terminal there. A series of strikes has forced the facility to halt and restart loading operations several times in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported.

The delays could create another hurdle for global trade when oil supplies are already facing disruption from the war in Iran and lower flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Growing Russian and Ukrainian attacks have also raised concerns about grain supplies from the Black Sea region, helping push wheat prices to a two-year high in July, according to Bloomberg.

Turkish Straits Are Key Shipping Routes

The Bosphorus and Dardanelles run through Turkish waters and connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea. They are among the world’s heavily used shipping routes.

More than 40,000 ships passed through the Bosphorus in 2025, according to data from Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry cited by Bloomberg.

Under a 1936 convention, Turkey must ensure freedom of passage for merchant vessels through the straits while retaining the right to regulate navigational safety.

Turkey, a NATO member, has maintained relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the war. The conflict has previously affected shipping through the Turkish straits.

In 2022, Ankara required ships to provide additional documents showing that their insurance remained valid after European Union sanctions excluded some shipments from insurance coverage.