The M/V Razoni sails from the port of Odesa following the authorization of the Joint Coordination Centre. Source: UN.
According to UN officials the Black Sea Initiative is travelling well and several ships containing grain have successfully been exported out of Ukraine.
UN interim Coordinator for the Initiative Frederick J. Kenney Jr said that over 370,000 metric tonnes of grain and other food stocks have been exported out of Ukrainian ports that are heavily controlled by Russia.
“Those vessels had been stranded in the three ports covered by the initiative when the war started,” he said.
Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye oversee the transportation, collectively carrying out checks to ensure that shipments from the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny follow the required guidelines.
Wheat, corn, and fertilizer are just some of the products being exported out of Ukraine, which is the 5th largest exporter of wheat in the world.
The first successful shipment was approved in Istanbul on August 3 with 26,000 tonnes of grain sent on its way to Lebanon, while another 11 vessels have been “authorised to depart Ukrainian ports,” said the UN.
However it was revealed several days ago that the Lebanese importer would no longer be wanting the grain because they’ve wasted a large amount of money on waiting for it to reach their ports.
The UN points out that the Black Sea agreement will only be carried out for 120 days but will be vital in helping with the global food crisis as operations ramp up.
“We still have much work ahead of us to ensure that the implementation of the initiative translates into real results to address food insecurity around the globe and to stabilize global food markets,” said Mr Kenney.
Helping the food crisis is an important part of the initiative and the UN added that their “priority is to free up pier space” in those Ukrainian ports “so that the vessels come in and take new cargo”.
There are still several ports which cannot export/import goods and include Skadovsk, Kherson, Olbia and Pivdenny according to maritime group Wilhelmsen.
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that as far as they are aware Türkiye did not receive any discount on grain or other exports for being a part of the agreement, which was signed between the three nations and the UN in Istanbul.
