Turkey detains Russian ship at Samsun port in retaliatory move

İlker Aktaş - SAMSUN

AA photo

Turkish authorities have refused to give a Russian ship permission to depart from Samsun Port due to a “lack of required documents” following similar action by Russia against Turkish ships at Novorossiysk Port. 

Four Russian ships were initially denied permission to depart but three of them were subsequently granted permission after they met requirements.

After a Russian war jet was downed by Turkey on Nov. 24, Russian authorities began detaining Turkish ships at its ports, prompting Turkish authorities to also increase their controls at the Black Sea port of Samsun against Russian vessels. 

Six ships with a Russian flag were checked at Samsun Port on Dec. 5. The ships were found to be in compliance with Port State Control (PSC) rules, a series of international standards that all ships are required to meet, but some problems were subsequently detected in four of the ships. Three of the ships consequently met the requirements and were permitted to leave, but the remaining vessel has not yet been permitted to depart.