On Tuesday, an industry source told Reuters that one grain cargo vessel left Chornomorsk for the first time since a grain deal collapsed, testing Ukraine’s ability to unclog its seaports for grain export.
Last month, Ukraine declared a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to rescue ships stuck in its ports since Russia invaded in February 2022 and to avoid a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a grain export arrangement.
Saturday’s bulk carriers, Resilient Africa and Aroyat, loaded about 20,000 metric tons of wheat for Africa and Asia and were leaving Ukraine.
The source did not name the ship that left, but MarineTraffic showed only Aroyat in Chornomorsk near Odesa on Tuesday morning.
Russia is seeking to reimpose its de facto blockade. Thus, the loading tests Ukraine’s capacity to unblock shipping lines.
Moscow regularly attacks Ukrainian grain export infrastructure with drones and missiles.
Odesa’s three seaports, including Chornomorsk, delivered tens of millions of tons of grain during Russia’s invasion under a U.N.-brokered pact that failed after Moscow retreated.
Five vessels trapped in Odesa have escaped utilizing the temporary route along the western Black Sea coast towards Romania and Bulgaria.
The U.N. and Turkey negotiated the Black Sea grain accord in July 2022 to tackle a global food crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. World-leading grain exporters are Ukraine and Russia.
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