Three more ships to set off from Ukraine as part of grain deal

The first ship that left Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion got clearance from the İstanbul coordination center yesterday.

İstanbul

Three more ships to set off from Ukraine as part of grain deal

Three ships carrying grain and foodstuffs will depart from Ukrainian ports today (August 5) under a recent landmark deal brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar has said.

"With the intensive work of the Joint Coordination Center, three ships are planned to begin sailing tomorrow from Ukraine's ports within the scope of grain shipments," told the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) yesterday.

Also, an empty ship is expected to arrive in Istanbul for inspections before leaving for Ukraine, Akar added.

Ships carrying grain from Ukraine and empty ships returning to the country will be inspected by the Joint Coordination Center, which was established in İstanbul as part of the grain deal.

Having held separate meetings with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, Akar exchanged views on the efforts of grain shipments and the latest situation.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke over the phone yesterday to discuss the latest developments related to the Ukraine grain deal.

On Monday, the first ship that left Ukraine since the start of the war, the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo vessel Razoni, departed from Odessa carrying over 26,500 tons of corn, got security clearance in Istanbul, and is on its way to the Lebanese port of Tripoli, its final destination.

How the Ukraine grain deal works

Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 led to a grain export crisis from Ukraine, one of the largest grain exporting countries in the world. Ukraine accused Russia of stealing the grain in the places it occupied in Ukraine. Turkey is among the places where the stolen grain is sold, according to officials from Ukraine.

Russia denied stealing Ukraine's grain and says the disruption in the grain shipment is caused by the naval mines laid by Ukraine off the Black Sea coasts.

After diplomatic consultations, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny — for grain that has been stuck for months because of the invasion.

On July 27, a coordination center to implment the deal opened in İstanbul.

The duty of the center is to provide safe sea transportation of grain and similar food products to be exported from Ukraine.

It consists of five representatives – both military and civilian – each from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN.

The center will register and monitor the departure of commercial ships via satellite, internet, and other communication means, and will carry out all its activities in coordination with the parties and the UN.

The ships will be inspected by joint inspection teams at locations deemed suitable for loading at Ukrainian ports and upon arrival at ports in Türkiye.

Nearly 4,900 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on February 24, according to UN figures. Over 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including more than 8.4 million that have fled to other countries.

(VK)