Turkey raises the fee for the passage of ships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles

Starting July 1, 2025, Turkey is bumping up the fee for ships going through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits by 15% to $5.83 per net ton. This was announced by the country’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, according to a statement from the ministry.

“This increase is quite valuable in terms of supporting the sustainability of the public services we provide in the Turkish straits. With the help of these fees, we continue to constantly develop the necessary infrastructure and vessel traffic monitoring systems to improve environmental safety and ensure maritime safety in the straits,” Uraloglu said.

According to the minister, last year, 51,058 ships passed through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits without stopping, subject to the collection of these fees. A total of $227.4 million was collected from them.

From 1983 to 2022, the fee charged to ships for passing through the straits remained constant at $0.8. According to a decree by the President of Turkey, starting in 2022, the fee will be updated annually, with indexation taking place on July 1 of each year.

This update is the fourth step in the tariff review. The last update was in July 2024, when the fee increased by 14.7% compared to the previous rate, to $5.07 per ton of cargo. In 2022-2023, it was $4.08, and in 2023-2024, it was $4.42.

As GMK Center reported earlier on May 15, the Suez Canal offered a 15% discount on transit fees for container ships with a capacity of approximately 13,500 TEU and above for the next 90 days. In this way, its administration seeks to encourage ships to transit.