First ship loaded with Ukrainian grain passes inspection and heads to Lebanon

First modification: 08/03/2022 – 18:04

Passed a crucial test for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports in times of war.

The first ship to depart from a Ukrainian port with the aim of restoring the massive delivery of grains and cereals entered the Bosphorus Strait on its way to Lebanon after its cargo was reviewed and approved on Wednesday, August 3, in Istanbul, Turkey.

An inspection team, including officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN, spent around 90 minutes carrying out checks aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which is carrying Ukrainian corn and was anchored off Istanbul waters, it said. the Turkish Defense Ministry.

This review is contemplated in the agreement signed between Moscow and kyiv on July 22 to guarantee that the ships transport food or fertilizers and not weapons or other elements.

The pact was reached with the mediation of Ankara and the United Nations to help alleviate the world food crisis, one of the consequences of the war launched by the Kremlin on February 24.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but Russia’s blockade of its ports has led to food shortages and rising prices. Some grain has been moving across Europe by rail, road and river, but that amount is small and insufficient compared to what can be moved by sea.

The Razoni, which according to the United Nations carries 26,527 tons of corn, left the port of Odessa on the Ukrainian Black Sea coast on Monday, August 1.

From Istanbul the ship set out on a journey to cross the Bosphorus Strait, a scenic 19-mile waterway that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara, before sailing to Lebanon, its final destination.

Up to three Ukrainian ships could go out a day

After the first successful departure, a senior Turkish official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that three ships can leave the three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea every day.

The international community hopes that this will be the first of many exports of food products from Ukraine, despite the ongoing conflict.

The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said that another 17 ships “are loaded and await permission to leave” the ports of their country. They are scheduled to leave in the next few days.

For now, the Razoni relaunches exports after more than five months of stagnation.

An estimated 20 million tons of grain have been trapped in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin ordered what he calls a “special military operation” to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

The agreement reached provides for the establishment of safe corridors through mined waters outside Ukrainian ports.

However, war and mistrust between kyiv and Moscow have threatened to derail the pact, which is due to expire after 120 days, although it can be renewed.

With Reuters and AP