Istanbul: A total of 9,195 ships transited Trkiye's Istanbul Strait, which connects Asia and Europe, in the first three months of the year. An average of 102 vessels passed daily through the strait during the January-March period, according to data compiled from the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry by Anadolu.

According to Anadolu Agency, 5,792 of these ships received pilotage services. During this period, the types of vessels traversing the strait included 3,277 general cargo ships, 1,833 bulk carriers, and 451 tankers carrying chemical cargo. Unlike last year, no ships longer than 300 meters transited the strait in the first quarter.

The vessel traffic further included 288 barges, 11 cement ships, 984 container ships, 125 livestock carriers, nine warships, 77 passenger ships, 53 Ro-Ro vessels, 1,511 unspecified tankers, 207 liquefied petroleum gas tankers, 57 tugboats, 30 vehicle carriers, and 282 other types of ships. The total gross tonnage of cargo carried by ships through the strait amounted to 135,182,851 gross tons.

Cargo volume reached its peak in January with 51,711,485 gross tons, whereas the lowest was recorded in February with 41,343,780 gross tons. Specifically, 3,025 ships transited the strait in January carrying 42,127,586 gross tons, 2,687 ships in February with 41,343,780 gross tons, and 3,483 ships in March with 51,711,485 gross tons.

The number of ships using the Istanbul Strait saw a decline compared to the previous year, when 9,351 vessels navigated the strait carrying 141,160,081 gross tons. In the first quarter of 2024, 10,106 ships passed carrying 157,101,576 gross tons, with 6,275 receiving pilotage services. This contrasts with the same period in 2023 when 9,250 ships carried 149,543,961 gross tons, with 6,217 of them receiving pilotage services.