Editing Bosporus (section)

=== Maritime ===
The Bosporus is traversed by numerous passenger and vehicular ferries daily, as well as by recreational and fishing boats ranging from dinghies to yachts owned by both public and private entities.

The strait also serves a significant amount of international commercial shipping traffic in the form of [[Cargo ship|freighters]] and [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]]. Between its northern limits at [[Rumeli Feneri]] and [[Anadolu Feneri]] and its southern ones at [[Ahırkapı Feneri]] and [[Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri]], there are numerous dangerous points for large-scale maritime traffic that require sharp turns and management of visual obstructions. Famously, the stretch between [[Kandilli, Üsküdar|Kandilli Point]] and [[Aşiyan]] requires a 45-degree course alteration in a location where the currents can reach {{convert|7|to|8|kn|m/s|abbr=out}}. To the south, at [[Yeniköy, Istanbul|Yeniköy]], the necessary course alteration is 80 degrees. Compounding these difficult changes in trajectory, the rear and forward sight lines at [[Kandilli, Üsküdar|Kandilli]] and [[Yeniköy, Istanbul|Yeniköy]] are also completely blocked prior to and during the course alteration, making it impossible for ships approaching from the opposite direction to see around the bends. The risks posed by this geography are further multiplied by the heavy ferry traffic across the strait, linking the European and Asian sides of the city. As such, all the dangers and obstacles characteristic of narrow waterways are present and acute in this vital sea lane.

In 2011, the Turkish Government started to discuss creating a man-made canal roughly {{convert|80|km|mi}} long that would run north–south through [[Silivri|the western edges of Istanbul Province]] as a second route from the Black Sea to the Marmara. It was suggested that this would reduce the risk from shipping to the Bosporus.<ref name="Turkey to build Bosphorus bypass" /><ref name="ing.dk" /> The controverislal [[Kanal İstanbul]] project continues to be debated.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-223806-istanbul-canal-project-to-open-debate-on-montreux-convention.html |newspaper=[[Today's Zaman]] |title=İstanbul Canal project to open debate on Montreux Convention |date=2010-10-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430073318/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-223806-istanbul-canal-project-to-open-debate-on-montreux-convention.html |archive-date=2011-04-30 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkey-debates-whether-international-treaty-is-obstacle-to-plan-to-bypass-the-bosporus/2011/04/29/AFcaFrCF_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211162128/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkey-debates-whether-international-treaty-is-obstacle-to-plan-to-bypass-the-bosporus/2011/04/29/AFcaFrCF_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-12-11 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=Turkey debates whether international treaty is obstacle to plan to bypass the Bosporus |date=2011-04-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Turkey's Ambitious Infrastructure Projects | url= https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/turkeys-ambitious-infrastructure-projects |work=Worldview | publisher=[[Stratfor]] | date= 16 May 2013| access-date=2013-05-16 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

In 2022 the dues levied by Turkey for freight ships increased 500% to US$4 per ton, the first change since 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Five Fold Increase of Transit Fees for Bosphorus & Dardanelles |url=https://e-ulgener.com/i/Sc_wcSIfvDShqSkPpDCVXAyecoiBLvGtTGlPs2r39tI |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref>

The Bosporus is fairly deep and there is no definite limit on the depth and length of a ship, but ships over 150 metres long or 10 metres deep must pre-book their passage. Those over 300 metres long must follow a special clearance procedure. There is an air draft limit of 57 metres.<ref>[http://northmaritime.com/ports-info/turkish-straits-instanbul-region/24-bosphorus-istanbul-strait.html Bosphorus (Istanbul) Strait] (2014 North Maritime)</ref><ref>[https://www.un.org/depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TUR_1994_Regulations.pdf Maritime Traffic Regulations for the Turkish Straits and the Marmara Region, entered into force on 1 July 1994] (United Nations)</ref>