Three new ships with grain leave Ukraine under landmark deal

Three more ships carrying grain and foodstuffs set out from Ukrainian ports on Aug. 5 under a recent landmark deal, according to Turkey's Defense Ministry.

Friday August 05 2022 11:20 am

Reuters

Three ships loaded with grain left Ukrainian ports on Aug. 5 under a recently concluded safe passage deal, the Turkish defense ministry and Reuters witnesses said.

The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which groups Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. personnel, said two ships were setting off from Chornomorsk and one from Odesa.

The three vessels carrying a total of about 58,000 tonnes of corn have been authorized to leave Ukrainian ports as part of a deal to unblock grain exports.

The Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter the Panama-flagged Navistar, carrying 33,000 tonnes of corn and going from Ukraine to Ireland, departed from Odesa Port. The ship will be inspected by the Joint Coordination Centre to the north of Istanbul.

Ukrayna’dan İrlanda’ya gidecek olan ve 33 bin ton mısır taşıyan Panama bayraklı NAVISTAR isimli gemi Odessa Limanı’ndan hareket etti. Gemi İstanbul’un kuzeyinde Müşterek Koordinasyon Merkezi tarafından denetime tabi tutulacak. pic.twitter.com/xnGxEtnjXS
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) August 5, 2022

The second ship, the Maltese-flagged Rojen, carrying 13,000 tonnes of corn departed from Chornomorsk port bound for Britain. The Joint Inspection Team was monitoring it.

The Turkish-flagged ship Polarnet set off from Chornomorsk for the Turkish Black Sea port of Karasu. Before the ship carrying 12,000 tonnes of corn reaches Karasu, it will be inspected by the Joint Inspection Team to the north of Istanbul.

Ukraine is a major grain exporter but its shipments have slumped since the beginning of the war because its Black Sea ports - a key route for its shipments - have been largely closed, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.