Very interesting question.
Yesterday, from Russian sources it was revealed that an Ukrainian navy ship had defected to Russia. It was in the Mediterranean on its way to Crimea. Apparently the new Ukrainian government had asked Turkey to stop the ship's passage through the Straits.
I haven't seen this confirmed by any neutral sources, but if it is confirmed Turkey's response will say a lot of its position in this conflict.
I hadn’t heard that. Very interesting. What a mess.
Just found this piece of info. Sounds legit but I don’t vouch for it.
“According to Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, Turkey has control over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships.
“Under the convention, non-Black Sea state warships, such as US naval vessels, must be under 15,000 tons to transit into or out of the Black Sea. No more than nine non-Black Sea state warships, with a total aggregate tonnage of no more than 30,000 tons, may pass through the straits or be in the Black Sea at any one time, In addition, non-Balck sea warships are permitted to stay in the Black Sea for no longer than 21 days.”