An agreement signed with Russia on July 22 has allowed Kyiv to start exporting its agricultural production again.
A first ship carrying grain exported from Ukraine docked at its final destination, Turkey, on Monday, Kyiv said. It is the Polarnet freighter that left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on Friday with 12,000 tons of corn. The ship reached its destination as planned after being inspected by the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) set up in Istanbul under the terms of the international agreement signed in July, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement. “This first successful experience (…) makes us look to the future with optimism,” commented Ukrainian Minister Oleksandre Kubrakov, who is quoted in the press release as thanking the crew for being one of the first to test this mechanism.
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On the other hand, the Razoni, the first ship that left the port of Odessa on Monday, August 1, with 26,500 tons of corn on board and should have docked in Tripoli (Lebanon) on Sunday, has still not arrived at its destination. According to the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon, “the final buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo due to the delay in delivery terms (five months)”. “So the sender is looking for another recipient. It can be in Lebanon or in another country,” the Ukrainian embassy added on Twitter.
More departures
More and more cargo ships are leaving Ukraine every day. On Friday, August 5, three ships loaded with corn bound for Ireland, England and Turkey left the country in a convoy, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. Two days later, on Sunday, August 7, they were followed by four more cargo ships, authorities said, saying they were carrying around 170,000 tonnes of goods “related to agriculture”.
In the opposite direction, a first boat managed to land in the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk (south) on the Black Sea in order to load grain there. A first since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainian authorities said.
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On July 22, Russia and Ukraine signed two separate agreements, validated by Turkey and the United Nations, allowing the export of Ukrainian grain and Russian agricultural products despite Western sanctions. With the aim of alleviating the food crisis. In exchange for safe passage into international waters, boats entering Ukrainian ports must be inspected in a Turkish port by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations experts.