İstanbul coordination center starts inspecting first grain ship from Ukraine

Photo: AA

A delegation from the İstanbul Joint Coordination Center established as part of the Ukraine grain deal has started inspections of the Razoni, the first grain ship to leave Ukraine's ports since the start of the country's invasion by Russia.

The ship carrying over 26,500 tons of corn to Lebanon anchored off the Black Sea entrance of the Bosphorus strait last night (August 2).

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship departed from the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Monday, the first under a deal brokered by Türkiye and the UN last month to resume grain shipments from blockaded ports of Ukraine.

Following inspections by a delegation in İstanbul, where personnel from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN work, the ship will sail on for Lebanon's Tripoli.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny — for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, a joint coordination center in Istanbul was officially opened on July 27. The center comprises representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable the safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

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)