Evaluation of the risk of ship accidents based on the current flow of the Istanbul strait's existing separation line and proposal of the most suitable separation line to minimize accident risks

More than 80% of the world's transportation needs are carried out by sea, with over 38,000 ships passing through the Istanbul Strait each year to get their share of this transportation. The Istanbul Strait is considered one of the most dangerous waterways due to its sharp maneuvering requirements for ships and the simultaneous observation of two different current regimes. The danger increases significantly with mutual ship crossings. In this thesis study, the current regime stemming from the structure of the Istanbul Strait is addressed, and a risk analysis study based on Ship Bridge Simulators is conducted to propose the most suitable traffic separation scheme for the Istanbul Strait. Different ship sizes are defined on the simulators, along with environmental and current variables, and the optimal separation line suggestion is presented to minimize accident risks.