Ferry

The Istanbul Municipality began its first ferry line service between İstinye on the city's European side and Çubuklu on the Asian side on March 21, in a bid to ease commuting time, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

New vehicle-carrying ferries crossing from one side of the Bosphorus to the other are due to start serving soon in Istanbul, as the construction of ports has been completed and two of the ferries docked on the İstinye port. 

Istanbul's Bosphorus has been closed to all naval traffic early Jan. 7, due to a fog caused by heavy snowfall, the Directorate General of Coastal Safety said.

The passage from the Bosphorus from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and vice versa have been cut as of 8:55 a.m. On Jan. 7, the statement said.

It did not say when the Bosphorus would be opened to traverse.

Members of the Panhellenic Seamen's Union, PNO, take part in a rally at the port of Piraeus on Monday, as ferries across the country remained tied up for a fourth day. The union is calling on the government not to scrap a lower tax for seamen and to halt plans to merge their social security fund with others.

The Istanbul City Lines are preparing to launch new car-carrying ferry services between İstinye on the city's European side and Çubuklu on the Asian side in early 2017, in a bid to ease vehicle traffic on the three bridges over the Bosphorus. 

With the planned ferry line, the duration of passage from İstinye to Çubuklu is expected to take from seven to eight minutes. 

British newspaper Guardian readers have included three small Greek islands among the top 10 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Winning tip: Walking on Sifnos, Greece

Greek ferries are to resume their services on Tuesday following a four-day strike after the union representing the country's seamen, known as PNO, decided not to further extend its action.

Tourists stuck on Greek islands since Friday due to a general strike that has halted ferry services will be transported to the mainland by air, Bulgarian public radio BNR reported on Saturday.

The tourists will be carried to the Greek airports in Athens and Thessaloniki.

The number of people leaving Athens by ferry for the Orthodox Easter break is slightly up on last year, according to authorities.

There was a rise of around 5 percent in the number of passengers travelling from the ports of Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina on Thursday.

Two ferries which had carried passengers in the Aegean city of ?zmir since the 1970s will soon be occupied by sea creatures and divers after they are submerged in the city's Karaburun district in an effort to boost diving tourism.