Twelve grain cargoes have left Ukraine, but the first shipment is still adrift

Istanbul — Two more grain-carrying ships left Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port on Tuesday, Turkey’s defence ministry said, as part of a deal to unblock Ukrainian sea exports, bringing the total to leave the country under a safe passage deal to 12.

The Ocean Lion left for South Korea carrying 64,720 tonnes of maize, it said, while the Rahmi Yagci was carrying 5,300 tonnes of sunflower meal to Istanbul.

The UN and Turkey brokered the agreement last month after warnings that the halt in grain shipments caused by the conflict could lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.

Four ships that left Ukraine on Sunday are anchored near Istanbul and were due to be inspected on Tuesday, the defence ministry statement said.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the two countries together accounted for nearly a third of global wheat exports.

The resumption of grain exports is being overseen by a joint co-ordination centre in Istanbul where Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN personnel are working.

Ukraine hopes to export 20-million tonnes of grain in silos and 40-million from its new harvest, the country’s economic adviser, Oleh Ustenko, said in July. The government hopes to earn $10bn for its shattered economy from those volumes but Ustenko said it could take 20 to 24 months to export them if ports are not functioning properly.

At the same time the first crop shipment to depart Ukraine is now floating in the Mediterranean Sea, searching for a new destination after losing its buyer. Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut on Monday posted a picture of the vessel, Razoni, and said the cargo was rejected by its final buyer in Lebanon, due to a five-month delay in its delivery.

It was the first ship carrying agricultural produce to leave the country’s major Black Sea ports since Russia’s invasion, loaded with about 26,500 tonnes of maize. The tumult in its journey to find a customer highlights the challenges that lie ahead for Ukrainian grain shipments to return to normal as the war persists.

The Razoni’s shipper is looking for a new buyer in Lebanon or elsewhere, according to the embassy. Its destination changed on Sunday from Tripoli to “order”, ship-tracking data shows.

 A spokesperson at Lebanon’s economy ministry said the government is not involved with the shipment, as the cargo was bound for the private sector.

Reuters