The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from the port of Odesa on Monday under a historic grain export deal departed Monday from the port of Odesa for Lebanon.
“The ship is expected to arrive in Istanbul on August 2,” Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the vessel would continue on its way following inspections in the Turkish metropolis.
The ship is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected, before being allowed to proceed, the ministry said.
A statement from the United Nations said the cargo ship Razoni was carrying over 26,000 tons of corn.
The UN Secretary-General has welcomed the departure of the first commercial ship leaving Ukraine’s port of Odesa since February 26, 2022. “The first departure is a collective achievement of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) set up in Istanbul under the auspices of the United Nations, and comprised of representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and Türkiye” a statement from his office said.
A day earlier, Turkey said the first ship to export Ukrainian grain since an agreement was reached for the safe transit of vessels may depart as soon as Monday.
The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine’s ports on Monday is high, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said. “There is a strong possibility that a first ship could leave tomorrow morning if everything is sorted out by this evening,” Ibrahim Kalin said in an interview with Turkish TV channel Kanal 7.
Türkiye’s defence minister Hulusi Akar has also discussed the latest developments on grain shipments from Ukraine in separate phone calls with Ukraine’s defence and infrastructure ministers.
The resumption of exports was also discussed in talks between the Turkish and Ukrainian defence ministers, Ankara officials said Sunday.
At least 16 ships loaded with grain were set to depart from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, as tensions accelerated again after an alleged Russian missile attack that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Landmark grain agreement
Russia and Ukraine have signed a landmark deal with the United Nations and Turkey to resume grain shipments in an attempt to ease the global food crisis. The deal would allow safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three southern Ukrainian ports.
Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat suppliers.
“The grain agreement is a sign that dialogue between the parties is possible in the search to ease human suffering,” said DiCarlo, officially the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. She added that the UN is making every effort to support the implementation of the deal, which was signed last week in Türkiye.