First grain ship docks in Turkey after stalled Lebanon sale
Lviv, Ukraine, Aug 10 (EFE).- The first grain ship to have left the Ukrainian port of Odesa since the start of Russia’s invasion has docked at the Mersin port in Turkey, authorities reported Monday.
The shipment of corn was the first to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded after a Turkey-brokered and United Nations-backed deal to end a Russian blockade of the Black Sea was reached in July.
“The Razoni ship, (…) has docked at the port of Mersin in Turkey, which means that all the problems surrounding this dry cargo ship have disappeared,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Lebanon said.
The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Razoni was carrying over 26,000 tons of corn bound for Lebanon but was unable to dock at the port of Tripoli after the Lebanese trader who was lined up to buy the cargo rejected the goods.
According to the Ukrainian ministry of transport, the buyer in Lebanon “refused to accept the cargo” aboard the Razoni due to delays in delivery.
The vessel left the Ukrainian port of Odesa on August 1 and sailed through the Bosphorus two days later after passing an inspection by a mixed commission of Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish delegates, according to the deal that was struck on July 22 between Moscow and Kyiv.
After heated negotiations, the warring countries agreed on a safe corridor from Odesa to pave the way for the export of 20 million tons of grain that had been blocked in Ukraine since February when Russia launched its full-blown offensive.
The months-long trading blockade and the fact Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters triggered a global food crisis that has affected Middle Eastern and African nations predominantly. EFE
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