First vessel carrying Ukrainian grain from Odesa to reach Istanbul later than planned due to weather conditions - Turkish general

ISTANBUL. Aug 2 (Interfax) - The first vessel carrying Ukrainian grain, which departed the Odesa port on Monday, will reach Istanbul at about midnight on Tuesday, which is somewhat later than was planned originally and was prompted by weather conditions, the Anadolu Agency reported with reference to Turkish General Ozcan Altunbulak.

"The preparation of new vessels with grain and other products is continuing. As concerns the Razoni ship, the bulker will cast anchor near Istanbul's coast by midnight because of weather conditions," Altunbulak, who is involved in the work of the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, said on Tuesday.

After the vessel reaches the Istanbul port, representatives of Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will inspect it before it continues on to Tripoli.

The Joint Coordination Center is focused on fully implementing the agreement on grain exports from three Ukrainian seaports, Altunbulak said.

As reported earlier, the Razoni, a Sierra Leonean-flagged bulker carrying about 27,000 tonnes of corn, is heading for Lebanon. It was initially expected to reach Istanbul for inspection at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Participants in four-sided negotiations (the United Nations, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine) signed two documents in Istanbul on July 22 regulating the functioning of a sea corridor for exporting grain from the Ukrainian seaports of Odesa, Chornomorsk (formerly known as Illichivsk), and Pivdenny (formerly known as Yuzhny).