A ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa on Monday morning bound for Lebanon, the first since the start of the Russian invasion, according to Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, carrying 26,000 tonnes of maize, finally set sail after weeks of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, led by Turkey and the United Nations. Russia has been blocking Ukraine’s ports since the start of the war, fueling a global grain shortage that has prompted the UN to warn of a looming famine catastrophe.
“Ukraine, together with our partners, took another step today to prevent world hunger,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, said on Monday. Kubrakov stressed that Ukraine has done “everything” to restore the ports and that lifting the blockade would give the Ukrainian economy $1 billion in foreign exchange earnings.
Turkey’s defense ministry said more ships would follow.
The first grain ship 🇺🇦 since the #RussianAggression has left port. Thanks to the support of all our partner countries and @UN, we were able to fully implement the Agreement signed in Istanbul. For us it is important to be one of the guarantors of 🌏 food safety. pic.twitter.com/jOz3bdmdfB
— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) August 1, 2022
Ukraine is one of the largest producers of cereals in the world. About 20 million tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine waiting to be exported. The blockade has led to global grain shortages and price spikes, pushing some countries that depend on grain imports, such as the Middle East and Africa, into famine.
Kubrakov said 16 cargo ships had been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion began, and officials planned for the ports to restore their carrying capacity in the coming weeks.
But the world is watching to see if Russia sticks to its side if the deal, after an attack on the port of Odesa a week ago.
Russia agreed to let the grain ships leave Ukraine and not attack them in an agreement signed on July 22 in Istanbul. But less than 24 hours later the veracity of the agreement was called into question when Russian forces attacked the port of Odesa.
When questioned by Turkey’s defense minister, Russia initially denied involvement in the attack. But the next day it issued a statement saying it had struck a Ukrainian ship carrying Western weapons in port. Ukrainian authorities rejected Russia’s explanation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he wanted to avoid “any action that goes against the spirit of the agreement,” adding that not implementing the deal would be “harmful to all of us.”
The U.S. said Russia had undermined the credibility of its commitments and soon after said it was working on a Plan B to export more grain from Ukraine using its rivers and rail.
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Since the blockade, Ukraine has managed to export more than 4 million tonnes of grain via the Danube River and its railways, but much work is needed to reach pre-war export levels of 6-8 million tonnes per month, experts say.
Industry experts have said that finding insurers and teams prepared to take on the risk will be a major hurdle for exports now and in the future.
Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot and broker Marsh announced on Friday that they had launched marine cargo and war insurance for grain and food products moving from Black Sea ports.
Britain’s ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, said that while Britain was not involved in the deal, it had helped secure commercial insurance for ships from London suppliers. The Ascot announcement indicated that progress had been made.
Simmons said the attack on the port had worried insurance companies, but they should not be deterred. “The most important thing is not to be afraid of Russia’s tactics because that’s what they are: tactics, to prevent this from happening,” he said.