The Seabridge ferry, which did not release passengers in Sochi, returned to Trabzon, Turkey, on November 9 after being denied entry. Sergey Turkmenyan, CEO of SVS-Shipping, confirmed the development to Izvestia. The vessel departed from Trabzon on November 5 at 21:10 Moscow time and arrived in Sochi’s port around 9:30 a.m. on November 6, but the Russian side refused to allow it to dock. There were 20 people onboard.
The Sochi–Trabzon ferry route, which operated from 1993 to September 2011 before ceasing services, was revived this year after years of discussions. The resumption followed a temporary halt in November when the ferry was unable to enter Russian waters due to unresolved security concerns. A Krasnodar Territory official stated on November 7 that the route could not be organized under current conditions.
Turkmenyan noted that passengers would receive free return tickets to Trabzon as compensation and were provided with food and accommodations during their stay. The ferry’s initial journey marked the first maritime link between Russia and Turkey in 14 years, though its arrival in Sochi was delayed by port restrictions.
