Caravan of 13 ships, largest since signing of grain deal, leaves Ukrainian ports

A caravan of 13 ships, the largest since the introduction of the “grain corridor”, has left the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure reported on its Telegram channel.

The caravan is transporting 282,500 tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural produce. It will be delivered to eight countries.

According to the information provided by Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure as of 2 September, a total of 68 vessels had left the Ukrainian ports, delivering 1.72 mln tonnes of agricultural produce to 18 countries.

The first ship after the signing of the grain deal left the Odesa port on 1 August. The vessel arrived in Turkey on 2 August.

On 22 July, representatives of Russia, Turkey, and the UN signed an agreement regarding the exports of Ukraine’s grain via the Black Sea. A safe corridor was established for the passage of commercial vessels transporting grain from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne.

On 27 July, a grain coordination centre with representatives from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN opened in Istanbul. The grain deal will be in force for 120 days, however, it can be prolonged if necessary, the Turkish defence minister stated.