Growing diplomatic tensions in the Black Sea were exposed again in the last 24 hours after an incident that has shaken the tourism sector and has been interpreted by Russian media as retaliation by Ankara, after the Russian cruise ship Astoria Grande, with some 600 passengers on board, was grounded for hours off Istanbul after Turkey refused to allow it to dock, forcing the luxury cruise ship to eventually divert to the Russian port of Sochi.
Turkish media reported that Turkish authorities prevented the cruise ship, with 616 passengers on board, from docking at Istanbul’s famous Galataport on the night of 19 November. The ship remained anchored off the coast of the Sarayburnu area for several hours without receiving authorisation from the local maritime administration to dock and disembark passengers, forcing the captain to order the ship to return to the Russian port of Sochi.
The cancellation of the Istanbul visit – considered the “highlight of the whole tour” of the cruise ship – frustrated the hundreds of Russian passengers on board, mainly from the Krasnodar region of Russia, as well as from Moscow and St Petersburg. Many had paid specifically to be able to disembark and visit various tourist destinations in Turkey, and the lack of clear explanations from the Russian shipping company led to growing tension on board, Russian media reported. The two-week itinerary, which also included stops at top tourist destinations in Turkey such as Marmaris, Antalya, Bodrum and Izmir, ended without the passengers being able to set foot in Istanbul.
Russian media talk of “revenge” by Turkey
This episode comes just days after Russia blocked the Turkish ferry Seabridge from entering the port of Sochi, leading many Russian media to interpret Turkey’s refusal to grant permission for the Astoria Grande as a “revenge” by Ankara.
On 9 November, the Seabridge ferry was refused permission on “security grounds”, despite the fact that the passenger list included only 18 Russian and two Turkish nationals, thwarting what had been announced as the first voyage on the ferry line between Trabzon (Türkiye) and Sochi (Russia) for 14 years.
The ship left on the night of 5 November for Sochi and ended up returning to Turkey on 9 November after two days waiting for permission to dock in the Russian port. Sources quoted by the Russian press at the time blamed a lack of coordination with the federal authorities in Moscow, as well as the fact that the port of Sochi was closed for military manoeuvres until midday on the day the Turkish ferry was due to arrive.
In response to this incident, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated: “Russia is at war and had difficulties there. We will apply reciprocity and will do the same. I assure you“. The 1,328-passenger Astoria Grande is Russia’s first international cruise ship and operates routes to destinations including Turkey, Egypt, Georgia and other countries.
Russia attacked a Turkish ship in Ukraine
So far, neither Ankara nor Moscow has made an official statement on this latest episode that threatens to unleash tension between the two countries at a time when Turkey is trying to mediate to revive peace negotiations with Ukraine, coinciding with Zelensky’s visit to Ankara.
Moreover, just a few days ago, a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian port of Izmail triggered a major fire on a Turkish ship; although the ship was able to save its entire crew in time, the event forced the evacuation of villages in neighbouring Romania due to the risk of the ship – which was carrying liquefied gas – exploding.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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