Türkiye Blocks Russian Cruise Ship from Entering Istanbul Port

Turkish authorities denied a Russian cruise ship permission to dock at a port in Istanbul, causing the vessel, which was carrying 616 passengers, to wait off the coast for several hours before it was forced to return to the Black Sea.

The Astoria Grande, which arrived at Istanbul’s renowned Galataport on the evening of Nov. 19 to disembark passengers, remained anchored off Sarayburnu district for several hours after failing to receive approval from Turkish maritime authorities, The Caspian Post reports citing Turkish media.

Following the prolonged delay, the cruise liner set sail back to the Russian city of Sochi, media reports said.

Onboard the ship were residents from Russia’s Krasnodar region, as well as Moscow and Leningrad. The Astoria Grande is Russia’s first international cruise liner, operating voyages to Türkiye, Egypt, Georgia and other countries. The vessel has a capacity of 1,328 passengers.

Russian media interpreted the incident as a retaliatory measure, recalling that a Turkish passenger ship was forced to return to the Turkish city of Trabzon after waiting off the coast of Sochi for two days.

On Nov. 9, the “Seabridge” Ro-Ro vessel was denied docking due to security concerns, marking a problematic start to the first voyage to the Russian city from Trabzon in 14 years. The passenger manifest included 18 Russian and 2 Turkish citizens.