About 10 Oil Tankers From Kazakhstan Stuck in Turkish Straits

ASTANA (Sputnik) - Up to 10 tankers carrying oil from Kazakhstan remain stranded in the Turkish straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the head of the KazMunayGas Kazakh oil and gas company, Magzum Mirzagaliev, said on Thursday.

"As of yesterday, there were 21 tankers there, including six tankers with oil from TCO [Kazakh oil producer]. In general, we estimate that about eight tankers related to Kazakhstan — from eight to 10 — are among those stranded," Mirzagaliev told reporters.

Mirzagaliev cited the Kazakh Energy Ministry as saying on Wednesday that the delay in the passage of ships through the Turkish straits had already lasted six days at that point. He also recalled the 14-day bottleneck in the same waters last December.

On December 1, Turkey started requiring from oil shippers crossing the Bosphorus Strait and the Dardanelles a letter from an insurer confirming that the vessel is covered by the necessary Protection and Indemnity Insurance (P&I).

On Monday, as the European Union's sanctions on Russian oil exports by sea went into effect, media reported that about 19 oil tankers were prevented from passing through the Turkish straits.