Turkey and Iraq reached an agreement on the Ovakoy–Fishkhabour link of the Development Road. Minister Uraloglu said the aim is to break ground in 2026.
With May–August rainfall 34% below average, the canal imposed restrictions. At the end of September the draft was raised to 49 feet; from 15 October daily capacity is 33 transits.
The fee charged to ships passing the Turkish Straits without calling at a port rose to $6.70 per net ton on 1 July 2026. Between 1983 and 2022 it was $0.80.
In January–June 2026, 40,218 ships passed through the Turkish Straits: 19,277 through the Bosphorus and 20,941 through the Dardanelles. 13,127 were general cargo ships, 5,188 container ships.
