Two British minehunter ships destined for Ukraine cannot travel through Turkish waters, Ankara stressed Tuesday, citing an international pact.
U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced last month that Ukraine’s armed forces had struck a deal to procure the Sandown Class vessels from Britain’s Royal Navy as the war-torn country grapples with Russia’s continued blockade of the Black Sea.
But Turkey confirmed it had informed its NATO allies that the ships would not be allowed to travel through its waters.
Ships have a home port, as defined by the owner of the ship. If a ship is sold, it would typically get a new home port, owned by the new owner.
All of Ukraine’s ports are in the Black Sea. Hence any ship owned by Ukraine not currently in the Black Sea is sailing back to port.
Why is that hard to understand?
Russia has several deep water ports outside of the Black Sea. It’s a slightly different ballgame, wouldn’t you agree?
One cannot “return” to a new “home”.
You can return to your old home, or move to a new one.