Turkish ferry stuck off Sochi for three days as authorities delay docking
The Sea Bridge ferry, traveling from Trabzon, Türkiye, has been anchored off the coast of Sochi for the third consecutive day, awaiting permission to dock at the Russian resort's seaport.
The vessel, which has been anchored in Sochi’s inner roads, is currently unable to proceed to its scheduled port entry.
Sergey Turkmenyan, CEO of SVS Shipping, the company that organizes and services this route, provided details, News.Az reports, citing TASS.
The ferry departed Trabzon at 9:40 PM on November 5 and arrived at Sochi in the morning of November 6. However, despite being docked at the port, the vessel has not yet been granted clearance to enter.
Onboard, there are 20 passengers: two Turkish citizens and 18 Russian citizens who privately purchased tickets for this voyage. By midday on November 7, the ferry had received permission to enter Russian internal waters. The inspection of the vessel was completed by 5:00 PM, and passengers were expected to disembark and the ferry to depart for its return journey around 11:00 PM.
However, the situation was delayed once again. Turkmenyan explained that the ferry remained anchored as they were waiting for authorities in Krasnodar to review the inspection report and provide the final authorization to dock. As of now, the ferry is still at anchor, with no further movement.
Despite the delays, Turkmenyan reassured that the situation on board remains calm. Passengers have been provided with food and water during the wait. The shipping company expects that the issue of docking permission will be resolved by the evening of November 8.
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