ISTANBUL (A.A) - 05.07.2002 - Greek-flagged oil tanker passed on Friday through Istanbul Strait after the protest of the Greenpeace members ended.
A total of 26 Greenpeace members, including ten Turks, boarded the oil tanker named ''CRUDE DIO'' 12 miles off Black Sea on Thursday, protesting the increased oil traffic in the region. The activists also unfurled a giant banner that read ''Stop oil industry, clean energy now'' in Turkish and English.
The tanker which was 274 meters in length was loaded with 160 thousand tons of oil.
After the protest ended, the Greek-flagged tanker passed through Istanbul Strait early in the morning and set sail to Marmara Sea.
Coastal Security Command took measures during the passage of the tanker.
Meanwhile, 12 Greenpeace activities who were taken into custody will be transferred to Sariyer Prosecutor's Office.
A statement of Greenpeace said that 8 of the activities who were detained were Turks while one of them was from France, two from Panama and one from Spain.
The statement noted, ''thus, Greenpeace activities gave the message to the countries that will attend World Summit to be held in South Africa next month that straits which is under the threat of Caspian oil and the world climate could be saved by use of clean energy resources rather than oil and other fossil fuels.''