Ukraine wants bigger cargo ships for grain as a backlog grows longer

Ukraine is instituting new weight minimums for food cargo ships as it deals with a long backlog of shipments under an international grain export deal that has been a rare example of cooperation with Russia since its invasion nearly a year ago.

The announcement Monday by Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry centers on an agreement the two countries reached in July allowing the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, ending a monthslong Russian blockade. But only a few Ukrainian ports are operational, slowing the export process, and many ships are waiting to be inspected.

To increase the amount of grain leaving port, Ukraine will raise the minimum tonnage of vessels carrying corn, wheat, oils and other foodstuffs from Ukrainian shores, the ministry said in a statement. The minimum load for grain ships will increase to 25,000 metric tons, up from 20,000, while the minimum capacity for ships carrying oil will increase to 10,000 tons from 6,000.

The ministry said that 145 ships are waiting to be inspected, 122 of which are bound for Ukrainian ports. The rate of ships arriving at the port of Odesa in particular has slowed this month, the statement said.

Under the deal brokered with the help of the United Nations and Turkey, Ukrainian marine pilots guide ships through Ukrainian minefields around the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenniy, which is in Yuzhne. The ships are given safe passage by the Russian Navy to Turkey, where teams representing all the parties inspect them before they head to delivery ports. Returning ships are also inspected for arms.

The pace of these inspections, Ukrainian officials said, is a problem. The infrastructure ministry blamed Russia for deliberately slowing inspections for the past three months, a claim it has made before. Moscow has denied the claims, according to Reuters.

Ukraine’s exports since the deal took effect in August remain far below prewar levels. In January, Ukraine exported just over 3 million metric tons of grains and oilseeds, well below the 5 million to 7 million metric tons that was common before the war began last February, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.

The initial deal was only for four months but was extended in November until the middle of next month. When Russia threatened to leave the deal in October, global food prices surged 5 to 6 percent.

Tags: export, grain, wheat, Black Sea, shipments, deal, vessels, oils, Ukraine, cargo ships, Russia, corn