Assessment of the environmental risk associated with the petroleum transport through the Turkish Straits System

The Turkish Straits and the Marmara Sea, which has been a ?mistress? for all countries and has undertook the role of economical and ecological passage, augments the geostrategical importance of Turkey within the international system. Recently, increase in shipping and oil transportation through the Straits, also led to the emerging new risks within the region. The number of tankers at the edge of the Straits of İstanbul and Çanakkale exceeds over the acceptable limits. Zeroizing risks in the Straits is not possible, as it constitutes main route for shipping. The point is that, the risks should be managed through legal regulations and ad-hoc measures. Regarding recent collisions in the Straits and their ecological results, minimizing or overcoming the negative effects of oil spills is vitally important in order to protect wild life in the Marmara Sea. Knowing the biological variety, would play an important role in executing scientific researches, which will make it possible to see the differences in current situation and explain the speciality of the Straits to the world. As pollution increases day by day, and as a result affects all countries and all livings through flows, countries are seeking for common agreements that would control the environmental effects. Oil spills are investigated meticulously since they leave permanent effects in sea ecology as well as in the air and on land. This research aims to explain, historical, geostrategical and economical perspectives of the Turkish Straits, the characteristics of the Turkish Straits System and the Black Sea, tanker collisions and their affects, national and international legal framework of the issue, risk analysis, researches conducted by Turkey and recent developments in the region.