The Astoria Grande liner was unable to dock in Istanbul, more than 600 passengers continued on to Russia

On November 20, the port of Istanbul refused to allow the cruise liner Astoria Grande to moor, which was mainly carrying Russian citizens. The ship had been anchored in the Sea of ​​Marmara since early morning, awaiting a decision. Still, at around 3 p.m., the captain was instructed to continue to the cruise’s final destination, Sochi, Russia.

This information was disseminated by the Russian agency Interfax, citing the press service of the general sales agent TOV SK Aquilon, which represents the interests of Astoria Grande.

Company representatives noted that the reasons for the refusal to moor were not reported. They emphasized that this was the first time such a situation had occurred: the liner, which sails under the Palau flag, had repeatedly visited Istanbul without any restrictions.

As it became known, there were 616 passengers on board, mainly Russians, and 435 crew members. The ship had already visited Antalya, Alanya, and Izmir before the stop in Istanbul was scheduled.

Representatives of the shipowner assured that the schedule of future voyages would remain unchanged and that cruises would be carried out according to schedule. The company did not receive any additional explanations from the Turkish side.

In the context of this incident, the media recall a similar case in which the Seabridge ferry, also headed to Sochi, Russia, was denied entry to the port. At that time, the regional authorities of the Krasnodar Territory noted “security issues”, as a result of which the ship returned to Trabzon in Turkey.

There are also reports of the sinking of a Ukrainian ship off the coast of Bulgaria, and it is known that the crew was on board.