Three more ships carrying grain depart from Ukraine under Black Sea Grain Initiative - Turkish Defense Ministry

ISTANBUL. Aug 25 (Interfax) - Three more ships carrying grain departed from Ukrainian ports on Thursday under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Anadolu agency said, referring to information from the Turkish Defense Ministry.

According to the ministry, one of the ships departed from the Yuzhny port, and the other two departed from Odesa. The ministry did not say where the ships are destined for and what kind of grain they are carrying.

Earlier on Thursday the UN reported that the Joint Coordination Center cleared for departure the Ascanios vessel with 58,510 tonnes of corn on board heading to Germany and the Mohamad Y and the Bellis carrying 11,000 tonnes of wheat and 6,000 tonnes of soybeans, respectively, to Israel. Another two vessels, the Oris Sofi and the 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, the Canopus, the Helga, the Lady Zehma, the Melina, the Michalis, and the Sealock, all heading to Ukrainian ports, and another three vessels, the Kubrosli, the Maranta, and the Great Arsena, which are leaving Ukraine.

According to the media, about 723,000 tonnes of food have been exported from Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative.