Ankara: Under the Montreux Convention for the Turkish Straits, the transit fees for the Istanbul Straits and Canakkale Straits are set to rise by 15% to $5.38 per ton on July 1.

According to Anadolu Agency, Trkiye adjusts the tonnage cost of transit through the Straits every July 1 in accordance with the 1936 international agreement signed in Switzerland. This agreement ensures unhindered passage for civilian ships through the Turkish Straits while taking into account Trkiye's passage regime and its security concerns.

The convention, which has been implemented with impartiality for nearly 90 years, provides a source of income for Trkiye while remaining reasonable and fair for countries along the Black Sea coast and other third-party countries. The Montreux Convention stipulates that three types of fees are collected from vessels transiting the straits without stopping: health inspection, lighthouse, and salvage services. The salvage services fee is related to the rescue of passengers and crew in ships that are in distress.

The value of the discontinued gold franc standard used for calculating the fees was initially set at $0.8063 in 1983 and was updated to $4.08 in October 2022.