General cargo Afro Star IMO 6516568, dwt 1849, built 1965. Vessel listed as New Academy Star since 01-02-2010, flag Georgia, owner Batumi State Maritime Academy, Georgia. It seems vessel was detained at least in the beginning of 2010, if not earlier, and then declared the property of Georgia. PHOTO: Afro Star in Georgian port of Poti. Photo courtesy of Turkish Maritime News Resource www.denizhaber.com
Georgian authorities have yet to release a Turkish ship it is holding even though Tbilisi promised to return the ship to its owner before the Turkish prime minister’s visit to the country earlier this week.
The owner of the ship “Afro Star” is negotiating the terms of delivery with Georgian authorities, diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News on June 02 2011. The sources said they did not know the content of the negotiations, saying they were technical details. In February, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Georgia where he heralded that Georgian authorities had agreed to release the last Turkish ship they have been holding.
The development came after Turkey took the initiative both at the level of the Foreign Ministry and through its embassy in Tbilisi to ensure the ship’s release.
Georgia finally agreed to return the ship before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit on May 31.
Some speculation also appearing in the media revealed that the ship was being held at the Maritime Academy in Batumi and was temporarily being used for the training of naval students.
Georgia’s seizure of Turkish ships and fishing boats in the Black Sea has often created diplomatic crises between the two neighboring countries.
The problem especially stems from ships bound for Abkhazia, which declared independence from Georgia in 1999 and was recognized by Russia after the 2008 Georgian-Russian war. Tbilisi sees Abkhazia as a breakaway region.