The first foreign-flagged vessel has entered a Ukrainian port since the Russian invasion, and five grain cargo ships are ready to sail.
For the first time since the start of the war in February 2022, a ship flying a foreign flag entered Ukraine to load grain, said Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov. Dry cargo ship Fulmar S under the flag of Barbados is in the port of Chornomorsk, writes the Greek edition dikaiologitika.gr.
“We are doing our best so that the ports can receive and serve as many ships as possible. In particular, we plan to reach the level of at least three to five ships per day in two weeks,” the Ukrainian minister wrote on Facebook.
The goal of Ukraine is to transport 3 million tons per month from the Black Sea ports, Alexander Kubrakov specified. About 20 million tons of grain from last year’s harvest remain “frozen” in Ukraine. Five cargo ships with grain will depart tomorrow from the Ukrainian ports of Chernomorsk and Odessa, the Joint Coordination Center in charge of the process said.
In total, these ships are carrying 161,000 tons of corn and food products to Turkey, China and Italy, said the Joint Coordination Center, which will control their journey to Istanbul, where they will be screened before crossing the Bosphorus. With new departures, the export of Ukrainian grain will gradually acquire a normal rhythm.
The joint coordinating center clarifies in its statement that it is “completing the export systematization procedures” within the framework of the Black Sea Initiative. Specialists have completed inspection of the Navistar ship en route from Odessa to Ireland, two more ships that were en route at the same time will be inspected later.
Addressing the Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed satisfaction with the resumption of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products. “Our Black Sea ports are working. However, the main risk, insecurity, remains. The risk of Russian provocation and terrorist attacks remains. We all need to realize this. But if our partners fulfill their obligations and guarantee the safety of exports, this will solve the global food crisis,” he concluded.
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