Abstract:

The Strait of Çanakkale, is connecting the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean by the Sea of Marmara is one the most important and risky straits in the world. Nearly 45.000 ships passed through Çanakkale in 2017. Çanakkale Strait contains high risks for marine accidents such as grounding and collision due to intense marine traffic. In the study, the marine accidents that occurred in the Strait of Çanakkale for 2001- 2015 have been analysed by using frequency distribution and Chi Square Test. The main findings of the study are as follows: The most accidents occurred between September and November; the most accidents occurred in the hours between 24:00–04:00; grounding/stranding was the most common accident type, respectively collision to occur in the Strait of Çanakkale;dry bulk ships were involved in the most accident, respectively cargo ships; the ships with a gross tonnage of less than 3,000 gross tonage and Turkish Flag vessels were those most involved in accident, human error is the maincause of accidents. As a result of the study suggestions for measures to be taken are given for the prevention of accidents and environment protection.

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