Five vessels with grain, other foodstuffs preparing to leave Ukrainian ports - UN

NEW YORK, UN. Aug 25 (Interfax) - The Joint Coordination Center has cleared five vessels carrying more than 85,000 tonnes of grain and other agricultural products to depart from Ukrainian ports, the United Nations said.

The Joint Coordination Center approved the departure of five vessels transporting a total of 85,110 tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs as part of the Black Sea grain initiative, the UN said in a statement.

They are the Germany-bound vessel Ascanios, with 58,510 tonnes of corn on board, and the Mohamad Y and the Bellis, which will deliver 11,000 tonnes of wheat and 6,000 tonnes of soybeans, respectively, to Israel. Another two vessels, Oris Sofi and Zelek Star, are carrying 5,900 tonnes of sunflower oil and 3,700 tonnes of peas, respectively, to Turkey, the UN said.

In addition, the Joint Coordination Center on August 24 finished inspecting six vessels, Canopus, Helga, Lady Zehma, Melina, Michalis, and Sealock, heading to Ukrainian ports, and another three vessels, Kubrosli, Maranta, Great Arsena, which are leaving Ukraine.

"All of them were cleared for departure," it said.

On Thursday, the center's inspectors plan to inspect another five inbound vessels, Golden Yara, Irmgard, Simas, Lady Aillar, and Queen Sara, as well as one outbound vessel, Kafkametler.

As of August 24, a total of 769,986 tonnes of grain and foodstuffs have been exported from three Ukrainian ports, according to the report.

The United Nations, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine signed two documents on July 22 to create a corridor for transporting grain from three Ukrainian ports: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyi (Pivdennyi).