DUE TO THE HEAVY MARINE TRAFFIC AND ASSOCIATED RISK THE OIL SPILL SCENARIOS AT KANDILLI WHICH IS THE NARROWEST POINT IN ISTANBUL STRAIT

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Istanbul strait, which is a part of Turkish Strait System (TSS), is a narrow and navigationally risky waterway for ships. This risk increases daily due to oil transportation from Central Asia and Russia. Over 50.000 vessels, on average, annually use the Turkish Straits. This is an increasing figure that occurred in the Istanbul Strait under the heavy marine traffic. In this study, the scenario was to run on Kandilli which is the narrowest part of the strait. This area is difficult for navigation due to inverse currents (which is referred to as Devils Current by the locals). Simulation was run for 500 tones of oil spill at Kandilli Point and distribution of oil was determined by using GNOME™. Effective wind speed and three different wind directions were used at each scenario. As a result of these runs, risky areas were identified and necessary actions to minimize the effect of spill were discussed. Cengelkoy, Arnavutkoy beaches and Sarayburnu were identified as the most risky areas. In order to minimize the effect on these areas, stocking enough barriers were found to be helpful for speedy action.