JCC authorizes three new vessels in Black Sea Initiative: UN

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 May 21:34

The UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq announces that for the first time since May 4, three new vessels have been authorized to participate in the renewed grain deal.

Workers loading grain at a grain port in Izmail, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023 (AP)

United Nations Spokesperson Farhan Haq announced, on Thursday, that the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) has authorized the participation of three new vessels in the Black Sea Grain Initiative for the first time since May 4.

During a press address, Haq said, "For the first time since the fourth of May, the Joint Coordination Center agreed to authorize new vessels to participate in the Black Sea Initiative," adding that "the JCC today authorized three new inbound vessels heading to Odesa."

In order to maximize capacity and meet demand, the UN urged all parties to ensure that authorization for the new vessels is complete for the three agreed-on Black Sea ports: Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny.

After several worrisome weeks during which talks on the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative were thought to have come to a stalemate, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday, said the deal has been extended for an additional two months.

"With the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends, the contribution of our Ukrainian friends, it was decided to prolong the Black Sea grain deal for two more months," Erdogan announced one day before the deal was due to expire.

According to Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Russia agreed to prolong the Black Sea grain agreement in the hopes that all implementation-related concerns would be resolved.

"Because we still do not lose hope that the problems that we are raising will be sorted out. The sooner the better," Nebenzia told reporters.

Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered agreement on July 22 to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships transporting food and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The deal was extended on March 18 for a period of 60 days instead of the 120-day period originally specified in the agreement.

The grain export deal has helped ease the global food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Russia.