Last grain deal vessel leaves Ukraine - JCC data

MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax) - The Barbados-flagged vessel DSM Capella, carrying 30,000 tonnes of corn, departed from Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on Wednesday, heading to Turkey.

The DSM Capella became the last vessel earlier inspected on its way to Ukraine, Ukrainian media said, citing data from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC).

The last inspection of an inbound vessel was conducted on May 6, the JCC said on its website. It was the Panama-flagged Deniz-M, which left for Sudan on May 14 with 30,000 tonnes of wheat on board.

Eight outbound vessels, which departed from Ukrainian ports on May 10-17, have yet to be inspected, the JCC said.

A total of 917 inbound vessels and 945 outbound vessels have been inspected since the Black Sea grain initiative was enacted in early August 2022, the center said. The difference between the number of inbound vessels and the number of outbound vessels is due to the fact that some vessels loaded with agricultural products were already at the ports when the crisis started.

Only 11 inbound vessels were inspected in May as compared to 54 in April and 89 in March. The largest number of inbound vessels were inspected in September and October - 186 and 136, respectively.

Forty-eight outbound vessels were inspected in May against 65 in April and 85 in March. The largest number of outbound vessels (194) were inspected in October. This number varied from 125 to 105 in September and November-December.

As a result, exports dropped to 1.07 million tonnes in May from 2.79 million tonnes in April and 3.93 million tonnes in March. The largest export volumes were recorded in October and stood at 4.24 million tonnes. Overall, 30.28 million tonnes of agricultural products have been exported since the grain deal entered into force.

It was reported earlier than some 60 vessels are awaiting inspection.

The Black Sea grain initiative was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 by the United Nations, Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia, opening a corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain from three Ukrainian ports - Chernmorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny. The deal was initially signed for 120 days and has been extended twice - last time on March 18. It expires on May 18.