Traffic in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait partially resumes after ship's engine failure

Millions of barrels of oil pass through the 19km-wide channel each day

The Marmara sea off Istanbul. About 700 million barrels of crude have flowed through the waterway in the past year. AFP

Shipping traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait partially resumed on Thursday morning after a brief suspension caused by the engine failure of a ship.

Traffic had partially resumed in a northbound direction, the Tribeca shipping agency said.

It comes after traffic in the Bosphorus Strait was suspended in both directions on Monday because of a salvage operation for another floundering ship, the agency said.

In September, shipping was halted in the strait after a vessel carrying 3,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine ran aground.

Millions of barrels of oil pass through the 19km-wide strait each day. About 700 million barrels of crude have flowed through the vital passageway in the past year.

A key transport route connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus is also vital to the UN-brokered grain deal, which assuaged fears of a global food shortage after its adoption in July.

Ukraine is a major global grain producer and exporter, but production and exports have fallen since Russia invaded the country last February and started blockading its seaports.