The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from the port of Odesa on Monday under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that is expected to release large stores of Ukrainian crops to foreign markets and ease a growing hunger crisis.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left Odesa for Lebanon, Turkey’s defense ministry said. A statement from the United Nations said the Razoni was carrying more than 26,000 tons of corn.
Data from the Razoni’s Automatic Identification System, a safety tracker for ships at sea, showed the vessel slowly coming out from its berth at Odesa’s port Monday morning alongside a tugboat.
“The first grain ship since Russian aggression has left port,” Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter, posting a video of the long cargo ship sounding its horn as its slowly headed out to sea.
In a separate post on Facebook, Kubrakov said Ukraine was the fourth-largest corn exporter in the world, “so the possibility of exporting it via ports is a colossal success in ensuring global food security.”
“Today Ukraine, together with partners, takes another step to prevent world hunger,” he added.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed the ship’s departure as “very positive,” saying it would help test the “efficiency of the mechanisms that were agreed during the talks in Istanbul.”
Turkey’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said the Razoni was expected to dock Tuesday afternoon in Istanbul at the entrance of the Bosphorus, where joint teams of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials would board it for inspections.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Akar warned that the global food crisis threatened to trigger “a serious wave of migration from Africa to Europe and to Turkey.”
The corn will then head to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation in the grips of what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst financial crises in more than 150 years. A 2020 explosion at its main port in Beirut shattered its capital city and destroyed grain silos there, a part of which collapsed Sunday following a weeks-long fire.
As the Razoni moved toward the open water of the Black Sea, it changed its destination from Istanbul to Tripoli, Lebanon.
The Turkish ministry statement said other ships would also depart Ukraine’s ports through the safe corridors in line with deals signed in Istanbul on July 22, but did not provide further details.
Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. clearing the way for Ukraine — one of the world’s key breadbaskets — to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural goods that have been stuck in Black Sea ports because of Russia’s invasion.
The deals also allow Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Turkey’s defense minister praised a joint coordination center staffed by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials as a venue where opposing sides could engage with each other.
“The problems they have are obvious — there is a war. But it is the only place where the two sides are able to come together,” Akar said. “Despite the ups and downs, there is a good environment for dialogue.”
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said that 16 more ships, all blocked from leaving since the beginning of Russia’s invasion Feb. 24, were waiting their turn in the ports of Odesa.
Kubrakov said the shipments would help Ukraine’s war-shattered economy.
“Unlocking ports will provide at least $1 billion in foreign exchange revenue to the economy and an opportunity for the agricultural sector to plan for next year,” Kubrakov said.
The United Nations welcomed the development, saying in a statement that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hoped it would be just the first of many commercial ships to carry Ukrainian grain abroad and to “bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security especially in the most fragile humanitarian contexts.”
The resumption of the grain shipments came as fighting raged elsewhere in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s presidential office said that at least three civilians were killed and another 16 were wounded by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region over the last 24 hours.
Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko repeated a strong call for all residents to evacuate. He particularly emphasized the need to evacuate about 52,000 children still left in the region.
In Kharkiv, two people were wounded by a Russian strike Monday morning. One was wounded while waiting for a bus at a stop, and another was hurt when a Russian shell exploded near an apartment building.
The southern city of Mykolaiv also faced repeated shelling, which triggered fires near a medical facility, destroying a shipment of humanitarian aid containing medicines and food.
Analysts warned that the continuing fighting could threaten the grain deal, making clients nervous.
“The danger remains. The Odesa region has faced constant shelling, and only regular supplies could prove the viability of the agreements signed,” said Volodymyr Sidenko, an expert with the Razumkov Center, a Kyiv-based think tank.
“The departure of the first vessel doesn’t solve the food crisis. It’s just the first step that could also be the last if Russia decides to continue attacks in the south.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
