Four more ships carrying agricultural cargo leave Ukrainian ports
ISTANBUL
Four more ships carrying agricultural cargo held up by the war in Ukraine will leave the Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chernomorsk on Aug. 7, the Turkish Defense Ministry has informed.
The ships Mustafa Necati, Star Helena and Glory left Chornomorsk port, while the vessel Riva Mind left the port of Odesa.
Three grain-loaded ships from Ukraine anchored for inspection at the Black Sea entrance of Türkiye’s Istanbul Strait en route to Ireland, the Defense Ministry said on Aug. 6.
Four cargo ships are due to leave the Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chernomorsk on Aug. 7, the Defense Ministry also said.
Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the United Nations signed agreements last month to create a sea channel that would allow cargo ships to travel safely out of ports that Russia’s military had blockaded and through waters that Ukraine’s military had mined.
Officials from Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the U.N. make up the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) that oversees the deal signed in Istanbul on July 22.
Implementation of the deal, which is in effect for four months, has proceeded slowly since the first ship embarked on Aug. 1.
The Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni became the first ship to leave Odesa on Aug. 1 for Lebanon.
While tens of thousands of tons of grains are now making their way out with these latest shipments, it’s still a fraction of the 20 million tons of grains that Ukraine says are trapped in the country’s silos and ports and which must be shipped out in order to make space for this year’s harvest.
