First cargo ship leaves Ukraine's Odessa after grain deal termination

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Aug 2023 13:00

The Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov states that the ship is carrying 30,000 tons of cargo on board having been docked since February 23, 2022.

The Joseph Schulte container ship at the port of Odesa on August 16, 2023 (AP)

According to the Marine Traffic tracking service on Friday, the first Ukrainian cargo ship departed the port of Odessa and entered the Bosporus Strait following the termination of the grain deal and is heading towards the Istanbul port.

At 06:20 GMT, the ship named Joseph Schulte left the Black Sea and on Wednesday, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov stated that the ship carried 30,000 tons of cargo on board having been docked since February 23, 2022. He noted that it was the first ship that left the Odessa port since July 16.

This is based on the fact that the Black Sea Grain Deal expired on July 18, and Russia did not renew its participation, calling on the West to stick to its word in the deal.

This also comes the same day after Turkey urged Russia to avoid escalating in the Black Sea after an incident involving warning shots at a cargo vessel.

The warning shots were fired at the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan general cargo vessel by Russia's Vasily Bykov patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet on Sunday which was en route to the Ukrainian port of Izmail. The attempt aimed at stopping the ship's movement to inspect it.

Earlier last month, the Kremlin cautioned that attempting to move grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports without Russian security assurances would be dangerous since Kiev exploited the seas for military purposes.

The Kremlin has also denied US claims of "weaponizing food", detailing that Russia has many times extended the deal and fulfilled its obligations even when security guarantees were not implemented.

The UN and humanitarian groups emphasized last month that the Russian decision to end the deal could have extensive consequences and an even greater impact on the most vulnerable countries according to Axios.