Turkey will raise the fees charged to foreign ships transiting the Turkish Straits without making a port call by 15 percent starting July 1, the country’s transport minister announced Sunday.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on X the per-ton fee based on the “gold franc” — a special unit of account used in accordance with the 1936 Montreux Convention — will be increased to $5.83.
Boğazlarımızdan uğraksız geçen gemilerden alınan ücretlerin hesaplanmasında esas alınan “Altın Frank” değerini 1 Temmuz 2025 itibarıyla güncelliyoruz.
📈 Ücretleri %15 artırarak 5️⃣.8️⃣3️⃣ dolara yükseltiyoruz.
⤴️ Bu yılki artış ile birlikte 2022 öncesine göre geçiş ücretini… pic.twitter.com/d9kpRfOxEK
— Abdulkadir URALOĞLU (@a_uraloglu) June 15, 2025
The fee hike marks the latest in a series of annual increases since 2022, part of Turkey’s broader effort to update outdated rates. Uraloğlu said the new figure represents an increase by a factor of 7.2 compared to pre-2022 levels.
According to ministry data, a total of 51,058 foreign-flagged vessels transited the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits without calling at Turkish ports in 2024, generating $227.4 million in revenue from these transit fees alone.
The fees apply under the framework of the Montreux Convention, which governs passage through the Turkish Straits and allows Turkey to charge ships for lighthouse, health inspection and rescue services, calculated based on net tonnage.