Ukraine: First vessel leaves Odesa since grain deal ending

The primary vessel has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa because the finish of the Black Sea Grain Initiative final month, Minister for Infrastructure in Ukraine, Oleksandr Kubrakov has mentioned.

Container ship Joseph Schulte underneath the Hong Kong flag left the port immediately (Wednesday, August 16), shifting alongside a “non permanent hall” established for civilian vessels to and from Black Sea ports.

Carrying greater than 30,000t of cargo, together with meals merchandise, the container ship, which had been within the port of Odesa since February 23, 2022 – someday earlier than the invasion – is heading for the Bosporus.

The vessel final sailed underneath the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 16 from the port of Odesa, earlier than the termination of the initiative following Russia’s withdrawal.

Black Sea

The hall can be primarily used to evacuate ships that have been in Ukrainian ports on the time of the invasion, the minister mentioned. Nevertheless, Russia has not indicated whether or not it could respect the hall.

Earlier this week, he mentioned that, to “keep away from provocations”, vessels ought to sails as shut as attainable to the coast of the northwestern a part of the Black Sea, by the territorial waters of Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.

Russian assaults

After the termination of the grain deal, Russia carried out “systematic air assaults on port infrastructure to cease Ukrainian agricultural export”, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry mentioned.

“On the identical time, there are info speculations and makes an attempt of provocations within the Black Sea to affect the motion of ships to Ukrainian ports,” the ministry added.

The grain infrastructure in Odesa was struck by Russian drones final night time, the Ministry of Protection in Ukraine mentioned. A number of grain services have been topic to assaults because the finish of the grain deal.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) mentioned that the one choice to export agricultural merchandise from Ukraine is thru the Danube ports, nevertheless, they’re “not protected for ships”.

UAC chair Andrii Dykun mentioned the price paid by farmers for logistics by land is simply too excessive, and appealed to the European Fee to compensate farmers for transport prices to European ports.

The council beforehand referred to as for the institution of “inexperienced corridors” to simplify journey to the ports of the Baltic States, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia.