Turkey expects daily departures from Ukraine following first sail
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Ankara expects the grain ship taking off from Ukraine to be the first of many, projecting that one ship will sail off from the Ukrainian port daily.
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The bulk carrier Razoni starts its way from the port in Odessa, Ukraine, Monday, August 1, 2022 (AP)
Turkey expects that roughly one grain ship will leave the ports of Ukraine each day as long as the agreement ensuring the safe passage of grain ships is upheld, a senior Turkish official said Tuesday after the first grain ship set sail on Monday from the port of Odessa since the start of the Ukraine war.
Razoni, the first ship to leave Ukraine since late February, carrying 26,527 tons of corn to Lebanon, was crossing the western Black Sea off Romania's Danube Delta at 7:14 am GMT. The grain ship will be inspected on Wednesday, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
A safe corridor in the Black Sea was agreed upon in July with difficulty for the passage of ships carrying grain. The passage will be monitored by a special group in Istanbul, operating under UN auspices.
Russia and Ukraine play a vast role in the international arena when it comes to wheat and grain exports. They account for an estimated 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower.
"The plan is for a ship to leave...every day," the senior Turkish official told Reuters, referring to Odessa and two other Ukrainian ports covered by the deal. "If nothing goes wrong, exports will be made via one ship a day for a while."
The export of fertilizers and grain is intended to ease the global food crisis that has been ravaging many countries since the West imposed sanctions on Russia and prevented it from exporting its own supplies.
Razoni's departure was delayed by a couple of days due to "technical problems", the official added, noting that the issue has been dealt with.
The four parties are monitoring shipments and conducting inspections from a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul.
Previous attempts to reach an agreement on a Black Sea grain corridor have fallen through, in part because Ukraine was unwilling to remove sea mines that it claims are critical to guarding against an alleged Russian naval attack.
Various organizations and countries have been calling for curtailing the rising food prices and delivering crops to regions facing acute food crises as soon as possible, and the latest development could help in that regard.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday it was "too early" to celebrate following the news of the first ships taking off from Odessa.
"At this time, it is too early to draw any conclusions and make any forecasts," he said in his daily video address. "Let's wait and see how the agreement works and whether security will be really guaranteed."
