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To: Little Joe who wrote (22610)	11/7/1998 3:01:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Turks threaten strait fee rise,unveil new measures 10:24 a.m. Nov 06, 1998 Eastern By Osman Senkul ISTANBUL, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday it may raise transit fees five-fold for use of its straits by tankers if Western companies choose them as the outlet of main Caspian oil instead of a pipeline proposed to by-pass the straits. ''Those who want to make the straits an oil way should know that we can raise the transit fee five-fold any time,'' State Minister Burhan Kara, in charge of maritime affairs, told a news conference in Istanbul. ''Then they will see what will happen to their dreams of cheap oil,'' he said before announcing a series of new measures to ensure safer transit navigation through Istanbul's Bosphorus and Canakkale's Dardanelles straits. Turkey opposes plans by Western companies and Russia to pump oil from Caspian oilfields through existing pipelines in Russia and Georgia, which would require use of the straits for the oil to reach Western markets. ''The straits are not international waters, neither are they an oil way and they will never be,'' Kara said. ''Let those who want to sell Caspian oil to world look for other outlets.'' He said Turkey has been imposing only 20 percent of the fee set by the 1936 Montreaux Convention, which governs the use of the straits by cargo of other countries. Ankara's proposal of a pipeline from Azeri capital Baku to its southern oil terminal of Ceyhan is being considered with the other two options as the main oil export outlet for an $8-billion Caspian oil development project. But developers of the oilfields, the 12-member Azerbaijan International Operating consortium (AIOC), say the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project estimated to cost up to $4 billion is $1 billion more expensive than the other two options. Kara said the straits did not have the technology and physical capacity to handle more oil passage, which reached 60 million tonnes of crude carried by about 5,000 tankers in 1997. The other options for the main Caspian oil envisage use of pipelines from Baku to Georgia's Supsa port or to Russia's Novorrossiisk port. AIOC is expected to make a recommendation decision, to be submitted to Azerbaijan in early December on the eventual route. The Baku government has the final say on the route selection. Turkey says an increased oil traffic through the straits will raise environmental risk for some 10 million Istanbul and Canakkale people living around the straits. Kara said the new measures, which took immediate effect, were aimed at preventing legal conflicts regarding the straits and expressing clearly Turkey's sovereignity rights. The measures included a compulsory passage notification of Turkish authorities by cargo and military vessels up to 72 hours ahead of the passage, depending on cargo type and size of vessel. Turkey can prolong the period, if need be. Analysts say compulsory passage notification will delay cargo transportation and Kara said non-oil transit cargo of the Black Sea countries will be adversely affected by the new rule if an accident occured in the straits. ''If an accident occurs in the straits, that will cut off the wind pipe of the Black Sea countries, whose foreign trade 70-percent depend on the waterways,'' he said. All vessels that are not on non-stop passages must have a Turkish cruise pilot for their navigation through the straits. Vessels should report to Turkish authorities during their passage, with larger vessels having to report more frequently than others. Criteria regarding the visibility rules will be regulated anew. ''The new legislation on the straits will right away be sent to all local and international maritime institutions,'' Kara said, adding that the measures were in full agreement with the Montreaux convention. ((Ankara newsroom, +90-312-446 2940 fax +90-312-446 4813, ankara.newsroom+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.