UN JCC reports 70 cases vessels deviations From Black Sea grain route

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Jun 2023 21:19

Due to the unreliability of the Automatic Identification System (AIS), signals with grain vessels have been temporarily interrupted over 400 times.

The Navi-Star sits full of grain as it waits to sail from the Odesa Sea Port, in Odesa, Ukraine, July 29, 2022. (AP)

The Office of the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative said in an update on Thursday that the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported that 70 cases of vessels deviated from the coordinates of the Black Sea Grain Deal corridor.

"Ships are monitored closely and stay in communication with maritime radio services of Turkey and Ukraine when in range. The JCC requires all vessels to provide a two-hourly report of their position when transiting the corridor, usually delivered by satellite-based email. The JCC has noted approximately 70 occasions when vessels deviated from the coordinates of the corridor, often by relatively small distances," the update said, noting that these deviations are the result of unreliability of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) reception in the Black Sea region.

It also added that signals have been temporarily interrupted over 400 times, prompting the JCC to contact the vessel master to acquire information regarding safety conditions and provide guidance in all instances.

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

The initial 120-day agreement was extended once in November and was due to expire on March 18, but it was extended for two additional months and then another two on May 18, 2023.

On June 9, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin blamed Ukraine for a blast on a key ammonia pipeline and warned that it could affect the consultations to renew the grain export deal, as per RIA news agency.

Concurrently, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey said Moscow continues consultations with the United Nations on the Black Sea grain deal. However, there are no grounds to extend it, RIA reported.