Republic of Turkey Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu reported that 21 dry cargo vessels with Turkish owners are now in the Ukrainian Odessa Port.
Sharing information about the status of the Turkish vessels, the Minister Karaismailoğlu said that the Odessa Port currently houses a total of 21 vessels, 4 with Turkish flags and 17 with Turkish owners, and that the vessels hold a total of 100 crew.
Stating that they have been monitoring and keeping contact with the vessels, the Minister said that the crew in the vessels did not make any request for being discharged, and continued, ‘‘They do not want to leave the vessels. The vessels have not yet left the port. We are discussing the state of the vessels through our Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defense. There is an information pollution. Some say there are mines, others say just the opposite, claiming that Ukraine is dramatizing the subject. Consent of both sides must be obtained but this is a bit difficult in the war environment. The vessels are being screened and searched. Because of the war, their returning is yet unclear.”
