Oil tanker queues in Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits have eased after recent congestion, helped in part by a new traffic navigation system, maritime officials said.
On Friday, nine tankers were waiting in the Dardanelles, compared to 68 in late January.
Officials put the improvement down to fewer tankers using the route since the delays were at their worst and also to a new automated vessel traffic system (VTS), which became operation in the end of 2003.
"There are not enough tankers arriving to create traffic jams, and successful planning under VTS has helped the congestion ease," said Ibrahim Koral, head of shipping agent GAC's Istanbul office.
The $45 million VTS became is aimed primarily at boosting safety in the narrow, winding Bosphorus strait that cuts through Istanbul, a city of more than 10 million people.
The straits are the sole sea-route exit for some 2.5 million barrels of Russian crude oil each day, as well as other commodities from Black Sea states.
The channels have been closed repeatedly in recent months due to poor weather, causing chronic delays for tankers and forcing companies to pay demurrage costs of up to $60,000 a day.
New regulations requiring vessels larger than 200 metres to request permission 48 hours in advance and limiting their passage to daylight hours also contributed to the congestion.