The wail of the horn of a Ukrainian tugboat marked the departure of the Razoni, a Sierra Leonean-flagged bulk carrier that started the journey at 9:30 a.m. local time. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the ship was destined for Lebanon.
Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a tweet that the ship was the first to leave the port of Odessa since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. A Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has halted grain exports, contributing to global food shortages.
“Thanks to the support of all our partner countries and @UN, we were able to fully implement the agreement signed in Istanbul,” Kubrakov tweeted Monday morning.
Russia and Ukraine were among the world’s largest producers and exporters of grain, cooking oil and fertilizers, before the Russian invasion. Last year, according to the United Nations, Ukraine accounted for 10 percent of global wheat exports.
With more than 20 million tons of grain from last year’s harvest in storage, the resumption of sea shipments is a top priority for the Ukrainian government. But Russia’s naval blockade has forced grain sellers to use alternative routes, including river ports or expensive overland routes that have delayed deliveries.
The July 22 agreement signed in Turkey guarantees the safe passage of commercial vessels from Odessa and two other Ukrainian ports. The agreement, which will remain in force for 120 days, is based on the monitoring of the designated maritime corridors by a coordinators center in Istanbul, staffed by delegations from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations.
The signing of the agreement came after months of negotiations between Turkey and the UN and disputes over its terms, including security guarantees that Ukraine insisted on. A Russian missile attack on the port of Odessa, less than 24 hours after the deal was closed, threatened to scuttle the initiative.
“Ensuring that existing grain and food can go to global markets is a humanitarian imperative,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement welcoming the departure of the Razoni.
The Istanbul Coordination Center said in a statement it had agreed to “specific coordinates and restrictions” along the maritime corridor, and requested “all its participants to inform their respective armies” and other authorities to ensure the safe passage of the Razoni.
The ship, it added, was carrying more than 26,000 tons of corn and was due to arrive in Turkish territorial waters on Tuesday. After inspection in Turkey, it would proceed to Lebanon, the statement said.
