ADANA - Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will lower the traffic in Turkish straits, said a Turkish source.
''Aside from its economic benefits to Turkey, the oil pipeline will help ease traffic in the Turkish straits of Bosphorus and Canakkale. We estimate that at least 333 giant tankers will be eliminated per year thanks to the (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline.''
According to information obtained by the A.A, the number of oil tankers passing through the Turkish straits has dramatically increased in the past decade. ''While the amount of oil carried by ships was approximately 60 million tons in 1996, this amount jumped to 143,5 million tons in 2004.''
Turkish energy officials expect a rapid increase in the amount of oil carried from Russia through the straits. ''When oil is transferred from the Caspian region to Russia and then to Turkey, the tanker traffic will likely show an increase. Each day at least 15 large oil tanker pass through the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul.''
The Turkish straits have become an economic haven for thousands of ships from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.
One Turkish official told the A.A that on the average one ship carrying a foreign flag passes through the Turkish straits every 7 minutes. ''Every 50 minutes, a large oil carrier passes through the Turkish straits.''
Asked about the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, a Turkish Ministry of Energy official indicated that there are some economic benefits for the people of the region. ''However, the BTC oil pipeline will help bring the risk of accidents in Turkish straits to a minimum level possible. We are more interested in the safety of Turkish cities than the economic benefits the BTC may bring to us.''
The BTC oil pipeline is approximately 1774 kilometers long. The portion of the oil pipeline in Turkey is about 1074 kilometers.