Corn and hope are the cargo of the first ship that departs from Odessa, says Guterres

The commercial freighter Razoni set sail this Monday morning from the Ukrainian port of Odessa, marking the entry into force of the Black Sea Grain Export Initiativesigned on July 22 between Ukraine, Russia and Turkey under the auspices of the UN.

The ship left for the Lebanese town of Tripoli, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone and carrying 26,527 tons of corn. It is the first ship to leave a Ukrainian Black Sea port since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 26.

The General secretary The UN declared before the media that the ship “is loaded with two currently scarce staples: maize and hope”.

“Hope for millions of people around the world who depend on the proper functioning of Ukraine’s ports to feed their families”, added António Guterres.

The ship will arrive at an inspection point in Turkish waters tomorrow and, after registration, head to Lebanon, a country that relies heavily on grain imports.

First concrete result

Guterres stressed that the departure of this ship is the first concrete result of the Black Sea Initiative, which began to be negotiated at the end of April, when he presented a proposal to the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

“It’s about a huge collective achievement of the Joint Coordination Center, established last week in Istanbul under the auspices of the United Nations, with representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Turkey,” he said, underlining the tireless work of all parties involved to reach the agreement.

The head of the UN thanked the efforts and willingness of the countries involved and stated that the event represents an “important starting point.”

“It must be the first of many ships that will bring relief and stability to world food markets”, he emphasized.

In addition to Odessa, the Black Sea Initiative will allow the departure of grain from the ports of Chornomorsk and Yuzhny.

According to the Initiative more than 20 million tons can be exported of Ukrainian grain that had been blocked in the Black Sea ports, at the rate of five million tons per month.

Likewise, it will facilitate unhindered access to Russian food and fertilizers to international markets.

With more than 45 million tons of grain annually on the market, Ukraine and Russia are among the main exporters of wheat and other grains. Together they hold almost a third of world imports of those foods.

Relief and stability to the markets

Guterres insisted that both the export of Ukrainian grain and Russian food and fertilizers will give “relief and stability to world food markets and help address the world food crisis”.

“Ensuring that grain, fertilizer and other food-related items are available at reasonable prices to developing countries is a humanitarian imperative”, he asserted.

The Secretary-General argued that people on the brink of famine need these deals to work in order to survive, and countries on the brink of bankruptcy need these deals to work to keep their economies alive.

He explained that, in line with the humanitarian spirit of the Initiative, the World Food Program plans a first purchase, loading and shipping of 30,000 tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a ship chartered by the UN.

The war must end

Once again, Guterres reiterated that the war in Ukraine must end.

“I hope today’s news can be a step towards that goalfor the people of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and for the world,” he said.

Finally, he pointed out that as long as the conflagration continues, the Organization will continue working every day to bring relief to the people of Ukraine and those suffering the effects of conflict around the world.

Humanitarian Maritime Corridor

For its part, the Joint Coordination Center, in charge of implementing the Initiative, issued a statement detailing that agreed to the specific coordinates and restrictions for what it called the Safe Humanitarian Maritime Corridor and that it reported them in accordance with international navigation procedures.

“The Center has requested all of its participants to inform their respective military authorities and other relevant parties of this decision in order to ensure the safe passage of the vessel”, added the text.