Five more ships loaded with grain leaving Ukrainian ports
ISTANBUL. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Five ships loaded with grain, including corn and wheat, departed Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, the Anadolu news agency reported with reference to the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Two ships left the Pivdennyi port and three others the Chornomorsk port, it said.
The Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul is also set to inspect four vessels en route for Ukraine to be loaded with grain on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said that exports of agricultural produce by Ukraine through its Black Sea ports under the Istanbul grain agreements should contribute to supplying food to the hunger-stricken countries of East Africa.
In particular, the Liberian-flagged Brave Commander bulker left the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi for Ethiopia on August 16. The vessel chartered by the United Nations World Food Program is carrying 23,000 tonnes of wheat to help overcome the hunger problem in that country, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the ministry's website.
In the first half of 2022, the UN World Food Program purchased about 60,000 tonnes of wheat and 36,500 tonnes of peas to promote global food security, it said.
Ukrainian media reported with reference to a social media post by the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) that the two vessels that departed the Pivdennyi port on Tuesday morning are the Brave Commander carrying 23,000 tonnes of wheat for Africa and the Bonita Panamax-class container ship heading for South Korea.
A total of over 80,000 tonnes of food has been shipped from the Pivdennyi port to date.
Another 30,000 tonnes of wheat and corn has been sent from the Chornomorsk port.
The Osprey S bulker, which was one of the first ships to enter Ukrainian ports after the signing of the Istanbul grain export initiative, as well as the Propus and the Ramus bulkers are heading toward the Bosporus Strait.
"A total of 21 vessels have departed Ukrainian ports over the 16 days of the grain corridor's work. We're working hard to increase the intensity of the corridor's use for entering Greater Odesa ports," USPA chief Oleksiy Vostrikov said.
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 (Illichivsk), and Pivdennyi (Yuzhnyi).