Two further grain ships depart Ukraine as a third port opens

Two more ships carrying corn and soybeans left Ukrainian Black Sea port on Monday, Turkey and Ukraine announced, bringing the total to 10 since the first ship sailed last week.

The UN and Turkey reached an agreement last month in response to concerns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would result in severe food shortages and even starvation.

The Sacura, which left Pivdennyi, is bringing 11,000 tonnes of soybeans to Italy, Turkey’s defence ministry said Monday. The Arizona, which left Chornomorsk, is delivering 48,458 tonnes of corn to Iskenderun.

Separately, the Polarnet left on Friday and arrived in Derince, in the northeast of Turkey, on Monday to be unloaded. This was the first shipment since exports resumed.

Since Aug. 1, Ukraine has shipped 243,000 tonnes of grain on seven ships, according to the international news agency and Turkey’s defence ministry.

Other ships carried 11,000 tonnes of soy, 6,000 tonnes of sunflower oil, and 45,000 tonnes of sunflower flour.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, confirmed the two latest ships left on Monday. Pivdennyi, the third Ukrainian port included in the arrangement, is now operational.

Kubrakov claimed Pivdennyi would boost Ukraine’s export capability to 3 million tonnes a month.

Ukraine exported six million tonnes of grain a month from its Black Sea and Sea of Azov ports in peacetime.

The four ships that departed Ukraine on Sunday are scheduled to anchor near Istanbul on Monday evening, Turkey’s military minister said.

Before Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the two countries exported a third of the world’s wheat.

A Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul oversees the commencement of grain exports.

The first ship to leave was the Razoni. It was supposed to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday, but it is now anchored off the southern coast of Turkey.

Sunday, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry said that the Fulmar S is the first foreign-flagged bulk freighter to arrive in Chornomorsk since the conflict.

The Osprey S was examined in Istanbul on Sunday and was near Ukraine on Monday, Refinitiv data showed.

Tags: soybeans, Polarnet, Chornomorsk, sunflower flour, food shortages, agreement, Ukraine, UN, Russia, ships, sunflower oil, Black Sea port, exports, starvation, corn, Pivdennyi, Turkey, Sacura, grain, Arizona