Author(s)

N. Güler

Abstract

Because of its strategic location, the Black Sea constitutes a unique link between Europe and Asia with a very important role in world trade. Also through Istanbul and Çanakkale Straits (Bosphorus and Dardanelles) transportation between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean is provided. These straits are one of the busiest maritime routes in the world with an annual average of 40,000 transit vessel passages. On the other hand, there are some projects being carried out by the European Union which might affect the maritime transportation in the Black Sea Region. Some of them are related to the Pan-European Transport Corridors and the other is for renovating the ancient Silk Way, which is called Traceca. The related transport corridors are: •Corridor IV, which can be seen as the backbone of the future Trans-European Transport network, •The Corridor VII, the Danube, passes through 11 countries, •Corridor VIII, is a link between the Black Sea and the Adriatic, •Corridor IX, from Finland (Helsinki) to Bulgaria and Greece, with a branch to Odessa, •Traceca (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia). In this paper, the maritime transportation through the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) and the Pan European Transport Corridors related with maritime transportation will be discussed with special reference to the Traceca project. Keywords: maritime transport, Black Sea, pan-European corridors, Istanbul Strait, Traceca. 1 Introduction The region of the Black Sea offers the best possibility for efficient southeast and east-west transport. The Black Sea area has been the cradle of different

Keywords

maritime transport, Black Sea, pan-European corridors, Istanbul Strait, Traceca.