Agencies-Gaza post
First ship of Ukrainian grain leaves Odessa port
The first Ukrainian shipment of grain left the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Monday at 06.17 GMT under an international agreement concluded with Russia in Istanbul over the Turkish Defense Ministry’s announcement.
“The Razzoni vessel left the port of Odessa towards the port of Tripoli in Lebanon. It is expected to arrive in Istanbul on August 2. It will continue its way to its destination following inspections in Istanbul. ”
Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said the vessel was loaded with 26 1,000 tons of grain.
It is assumed to arrive at the entrance to the Bosphorus on Tuesday afternoon as explained by York Essick, an expert in tracking ships’ movements through the Bosphorus and in the region.
The Turkish Ministry of Defence said that other shipments would follow “while respecting the (maritime) corridor and agreed procedures.”
The agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian grain under international supervision was signed in Istanbul on July 22 by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.
A similar agreement guaranteeing the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers was signed in parallel despite international sanctions.
Those agreements would alleviate the global food crisis, which had led to a rocket spike in prices in some of the world’s poorest countries owing to the cessation of movement in Ukrainian ports as a result of Russia’s invasion of the country.
Under the Agreement, ships and their cargo must be inspected in Istanbul under the supervision of a joint coordination centre.
The Joint Coordination Centre in charge of overseeing Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea was inaugurated on Wednesday in Istanbul under the signed agreement.
It includes representatives of Russia and Ukraine as well as Turkey and the United Nations.
The Centre registers and tracks commercial vessels involved in the transport of grain via Atantert and satellites and supervises their inspection upon loading into Ukrainian ports and upon arrival at Turkish ports.
