The cruise ship Astoria Grande, with some 800 mostly Russian passengers on board, was met with fresh protests as it arrived in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi early on July 31 on its way back from Istanbul.
Protesters held banners with slogans decrying Russia's war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin for launching the invasion. Police detained nine protesters.
RIA Novosti, citing data from the cruise sales agency, reported that the Astoria Grande, which organizes regular cruises from the Russian port of Sochi through Batumi to Istanbul, will no longer stop in the Georgian port.
The protest, attended by some 200 students, members of opposition parties, and civil activists was the second in several days.
WATCH: The cruise ship Astoria Grande, with some 800 mostly Russian passengers on board, was met with fresh protests as it arrived in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi early on July 31 on its way back from Istanbul.
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Russian Cruise Ship Meets Protests In Georgia
According to blogger Nikolai Levshits, several Georgian opposition parties and civic movements blocked the exit of passengers from the ship and blocked access to a bus that had come to take the tourists into the city.
Levan Khabeishvili, the head of the opposition National Movement, also took part in the protest.
On July 27, the Astoria Grande was forced to leave Batumi ahead of schedule after hundreds of Georgians there and in the capital, Tbilisi, protested its presence in Georgia.
The protests broke out following revelations that Russian passengers on board had told Georgian media that they supported Russia's 2008 war against Georgia and that Moscow had "liberated" Abkhazia, the breakaway region Georgia lost control of during the conflict.
According to reports, among the passengers are Russian television stars who support Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Putin, including Russian singer Mitya Fomin, who took part in a televised marathon show in support of the war, Belarusian singer Dmitry Koldun, and members of the Russian band Te100steron, all known for being pro-war.