In addition to BTC, a Russian-backed Northern route carries Oil across the Caucasus to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. In March 2001, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) commissioned the 990-mile, $2.5 billion, 1.34 million-bbl/d-capacity pipeline. From there, oil is transported through the Bosporus Straits. Turkey has raised concerns about the ability of the narrow and twisting Bosporus Straits to handle additional tanker traffic that will be necessary to handle the planned volume of oil to be exported via CPC, in addition to other oil shipments. Specifically, Turkey is concerned that a major accident and environmental disaster could take place right next to Istanbul, the countrys largest city. In addition, delays at the Bosporus can cost oil supertankers $30,000 per day (or more) in demurrage charges, and there reportedly have been delays of up to 30 days. Currently, more than 50,000 commercial ships per year transit the Bosporus, with oil flows of around 3 million bbl/d in 2003. Russias CPC oil exports through the Bosporus have been increasing, reaching approximately 450,000 bbl/d in 2004.To help resolve these problems, half a dozen or more Bosporus bypass options - aside from BTC - are under consideration in southeastern Europe and in Turkey itself. One possibility is a 1.2-million-bbl/d, $400-$900 million line running from Kiyikoy on Turkeys Black Sea coast to Ibrikbaba on the countrys Aegean Sea coast near the border with Greece. Russias Transneft had the lead on this project, but announced in March 2005 that it was pulling out. In addition, the Kiyikoy-Ibrikbaba line is opposed by environmentalists, since Ibrikbaba lies in a national park and the pipeline would pass near coral reefs in the Saronic Gulf. A rival option, led by Houston-based Thrace Petroleum, involves a similar route, from Igneada on the Black Sea to Saros Bay on the Aegean Sea.