Raging forest fires disrupted traffic in the Turkish Straits, a key waterway for oil and grains, for about four hours on Tuesday and eight hours on Wednesday.
The problem only affected southbound vessels sailing from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
Disruption began late on Tuesday due to wildfires in the Dardanelles region, the southern part of the straits.
The blaze near the port of Canakkale led local authorities to suspend ship traffic in one direction, from north to south, for about four hours.
The same restrictions were reimposed between 10 am and 6 pm local time on Wednesday.
“Ship traffic in the Dardanelles was temporarily suspended in one direction, north to south, due to the continuation of the forest fire,” Turkey’s directorate general for coastal safety (KEGM) had announced early on Wednesday.
Forest fires blocking ship traffic is a highly unusual occurrence, but it can be explained by the particular geography of the area.
Turkish authorities sometimes halt ship traffic because passing vessels could pose a danger to firefighting planes lifting water.
Firefighting planes and helicopters collecting seawater in mid-flight and then dumping it from low heights on the raging Canakkale flames have no other access to water than the Dardanelles.
This is not the first time that forest fires have affected ship traffic in the area.
Similar measures were taken in August, when big ship queues formed in the Sea of Marmara after a blaze in Canakkale blocked shipping for at least three days.
