The first of the ships leaving Ukraine with grains to arrive at their destination docked at a Turkish port this Monday, under the agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN, local authorities said.
Turkish-flagged Polarnet departed from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on August 5, loaded with 12,000 tons of maize, and docked today at the port of Derince in the Gulf of Izmit in northwestern Turkey.
The ship’s arrival at its destination was announced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who considered it a “message of hope” for “all families in the Middle East, Africa and Asia”.
“Ukraine will not let you down,” Kuleba wrote on the social network Twitter.
First ship carrying Ukrainian grain has reached customers in Türkiye. This sends a message of hope to every family in the Middle East, Africa and Asia: Ukraine will not let you down. If Russia lives up to its commitments, the “grain corridor” will continue to maintain global food security. pic.twitter.com/rsSRrsVSUa
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 8, 2022
“If Russia lives up to its commitments, the ‘grain corridor’ will continue to maintain global food security,” Ukraine’s head of diplomacy added.
Since the agreement was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 10 ships have left Ukraine with more than 305,000 tons of grain, according to figures quoted by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Four of the ships, carrying 170,458 tons of maize, are going to Turkish ports, with the “Polarnet” reaching its destination first.
The remaining ships are destined for ports in Italy, China, Ireland, England and Lebanon, according to Anadolu.
The cargo ship “Razoni”, flying the flag of Sierra Leone, was the first to leave Ukraine on August 1, but has not yet reached its destination in Lebanon.
On Sunday evening, it was anchored off the southern coast of Turkey, according to the navigation website “Marine Traffic,” quoted by the US agency AP.
The Turkish Defense Ministry has announced that two ships carrying corn and soybeans have departed from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports today.
The “Sacura” left Yuzhny with 11,000 tons of soybeans for Italy and the “Arizona” left Chornomorsk with 48,458 tons of maize for Iskenderun in southern Turkey.
Four ships that departed Ukraine on Sunday are expected to dock near Istanbul tonight for inspection, the Turkish defense ministry said.
Under the agreement, ships leaving Ukraine will be checked by representatives of Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the UN to ensure that they only carry grain, fertilizer or food and no other goods.
Ships bound for Ukraine are being checked to make sure they have no weapons on board.
The deal was reached in light of the threat of a global food crisis posed by the blockade of Ukrainian grains in ports controlled by Russian troops, following the war in Ukraine, which began on February 24 by Russia.
The war also affected the global supply of agricultural fertilizers, of which Russia is a major producer.
According to the British magazine The Economist, Ukraine and Russia together supply 28% of the world’s wheat, 29% of barley, 15% of maize and 75% of sunflower oil.
Source: El heraldo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
