Another 2 vessels with Ukrainian corn, sunflower meal leave Chornomorsk - Turkish Defense Ministry
ISTANBUL. Aug 9 (Interfax) - Two more bulkers carrying 70,000 tonnes of grain sailed out of Ukraine's Chornomorsk Port on Tuesday under the Istanbul initiative on resuming food exports from Ukraine, the Anadolu news agency said, citing the Turkish Defense Ministry.
They are the Liberian-flagged Ocean Lion, carrying 64,720 tonnes of corn to South Korea as part of the grain deal, and the Rahmi Yagci bulker, carrying 5,300 tonnes of sunflower meal to Istanbul, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"We are systematically moving towards our ambitious plan - to handle three or even more million tonnes of food products via the ports of the Odesa area per month," Ukrainian media outlets quoted head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority Oleksiy Vostrikov as saying on social media.
Twelve vessels have left Ukrainian ports since the grain export agreement was signed in Istanbul. Among them, the Liberian-flagged Arizona and Sacura bulkers have sailed out of the Chornomorsk and Pivdenny (Yuzhny) Ports. The Sacura is carrying 11,000 tonnes of soybeans to the Port of Ravenna in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, while the Arizona is heading from Chornomorsk to Istanbul with 50,000 tonnes of corn on board. According to Marine Traffic website data, the Arizona is expected to arrive in Istanbul at 7:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The Riva Wind bulker, which left Odesa on August 7, reached the Istanbul Port at 4:36 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Another three vessels, Mustafa Necati, Glory and Star Helena, also left the Chornomorsk Port on August 7. They are already near the Istanbul Port as well.
Another three vessels carrying corn left Ukrainian ports on August 5. One of them, the Polarnet, with around 12,000 tonnes of corn supplied by the Kernel agro-industrial holding aboard, sailed from Chornomorsk to Turkey, according to the Marine Traffic website. It docked at the port of the city of Derince in the Gulf of Izmit at 9:32 a.m. local time on August 8.
"Kernel has accomplished an important mission: the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain has reached its destination. The shipment has been performed within the framework of the initiative for safe transportation of grain and food from Ukrainian ports," the Ukrainian media quoted Kernel as saying on a social network on Tuesday.
The Rojen vessel left Chornomorsk on August 5. It arrived in the Turkish port of Canakkale on Monday. It is now anchored off the Greek port of Piraeus from where it will go to Teeseport, the United Kingdom, according to Marine Traffic data. The Navistar dry cargo carrier left the Odesa port for Ringaskiddy, Ireland. According to Marine Traffic, the vessel is now sailing past the Turkish city of Tekirdag.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni became the first vessel to leave Ukraine's Odesa Port on August 1 under the grain deal. The Razoni, with some 27,000 tonnes of corn on board, arrived in Istanbul on August 2 and was supposed to proceed to Lebanon. However, the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut said on Monday that the Lebanese buyer refused to accept the cargo, citing delivery delays.
"According to the information provided by the shipper of the Ukrainian grain aboard the Razoni, the buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo due to delays in delivery terms [by more than five months]," the embassy said on social media.
The Razoni is currently moored in Turkey's Mersin. Its point of destination is not yet known.
On July 22, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations signed two documents on creating a corridor for transporting grain from three Ukrainian ports: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny (Yuzhny).