Cruise ship sailing under Palau flag that entered Batumi port not sanctioned by any country - Deputy Economy Minister

Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili on Sunday said the cruise ship Astoria Grande, which had entered Georgia’s Batumi port on Thursday, had been sailing under the Palau flag and was not sanctioned, as part of the international sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, by “any country”.

In his comments, Guramishvili noted the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia, in cooperation with the Revenue Service, was “regularly” monitoring ships and shipowners entering the country’s ports for compliance with the international sanctions.

The Deputy Minister also stressed that tourism was an “important” sector for the country, contributing greatly to the economic growth, and added tourists could enter the country by road and air transport, as well as sea traffic.

The Maritime Transport Agency on Thursday said the cruise ship had arrived in Batumi port from Turkey and was free from international sanctions.

The body’s comments followed the report of Russia’s state-owned television channel earlier this week announcing that the ship, which had departed from Sochi on Saturday would include a new stop in Batumi.

The arrival of the cruise vessel was protested at the Batumi port on Thursday by locals and representatives of the domestic opposition.