Bosphorus ship spotters set sights on Russian war boats Minutes after fishermen tip him off that a ship is about to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus, Yoruk Isik drops what he's doing and rushes to his favourite vantage point, camera in hand. The vessel is not one of the dozens of cargo boats that pass through the strait between Europe and Asia every day. It is a Russian warship, in this case the landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov on its way to Tartus, Russia's naval base in Syria. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES