Simulated accident risk assessment of tankers carrying crude oil in Canakkale Strait

The fact that our country, which is surrounded by seas on three sides, has a sea route connecting the Black Sea and Aegean Sea due to its geopolitical position, makes the position of the Turkish Straits strategically important. Considering that most of the oil produced in Russia and Caspian region goes to other countries by sea through our straits, it is of great importance to control the marine traffic in the straits in order to prevent the environmental risk of oil-related pollution and marine ecosystem in case of a tanker accident. The long-lasting effects of marine and environmental catastrophe caused by the Independenta and Nassia tanker disasters on the Bosphorus are bad accident experiences that emphasize the importance of the Turkish Straits once again. In this study, the dispersion of the oil leaking into the strait after a possible tanker accident in the Canakkale and meteorological factors on the surface of time dependent sea surface is calculated by PISCES II program. Meteorological parameter values such as surface current, reverse current and wind effect have been applied on Turkish Straits Oceanography Atlas data in accident scenarios for four different sides of the Bosphorus. The ship model was determined by the average width, length and tonnage average of the number of tankers carrying crude oil passing through the Canakkale between 2009-2018, obtained from the General Directorate of Coastal Safety. The accident sites located for the scenarios were determined based on the accident site statistics occurring in the strait in the same years. As a result, this simulation study aims to contribute to the Emergency Response Plan for the Canakkale Strait in order to minimize the environmental impact by calculating the temporal and spatial spread of the amount of oil dispersed by current and meteorological factors after a possible tanker accident. Keywords: Canakkale Strait, tanker accident, oil spill, simulation, PISCES