Media: two ships headed along a temporary corridor to Ukrainian ports

The first two cargo ships headed along a temporary corridor to Ukrainian ports to load grain, in order to then deliver it to countries in Africa and Asia, reported Reuters Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Alexander Kubrakov.

According to him, on September 16, dry cargo ships Resilient Africa and Aroyat left for Ukrainian ports along the corridor in the Black Sea. They plan to load almost 20,000 tons of wheat for Africa and Asia, Kubrakov specified. Shipping data showed that the ships followed routes in the northern Black Sea.

Five ships have so far left the port of Odessa through a temporary corridor in the Black Sea, which runs along the western coast near Romania and Bulgaria, Reuters points out.

A UN spokesman told the agency that the organization is not involved in the movement of these ships, but welcomes “all efforts to resume normal trade, especially in vital food commodities that help supply and stabilize global food markets.”

The Ukrainian Navy on August 10 announced temporary corridors in the Black Sea for merchant ships heading from or to Ukrainian ports. On August 16, the container ship Joseph Schulte left the port of Odessa and reached the Bosphorus Strait. It became the first ship carrying agricultural products to reach the strait after Russia pulled out of the grain deal. In September, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated about the passage of two ships through a temporary corridor in the Black Sea.

On July 17, Russia left the grain deal, which was concluded in July 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other. The decision was due to the failure to comply with the second part of the agreement, which concerns the abolition of restrictions on the export of Russian products.