On Saturday, the Ukrainian Marine Ports Authority confirmed that two cargo ships had arrived in Ukraine. These vessels signify the first to navigate a temporary corridor to the Black Sea ports to load grain for African and Asian markets.
Last month, in response to the ongoing conflict that began in February 2022, Ukraine declared a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea. This move allowed ships, previously stranded in Ukrainian ports due to the de facto blockade enforced following Russia’s withdrawal from an agreement facilitating grain exports, to navigate safely. So far, five ships have left the port of Odessa via this passage near the western coastlines of Romania and Bulgaria.
Ukraine is one of the leading nations in food production and exports, and it intends to continue leveraging this corridor to export its food products. The Marine Ports Authority stated on Facebook that the bulk carriers “Resilient Africa” and “Aroiyat” had docked at the Chornomorsk port.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, mentioned earlier that these two ships are expected to load approximately 20,000 tons of wheat destined for Africa and Asia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture further specified, via the Telegram app, that the wheat is headed for Egypt and Israel.
An anonymous United Nations official told Reuters, “While the UN is not involved in the movement of these ships, we commend all efforts to resume regular trade, especially vital food goods that support and stabilize global food markets.” The official added, “We continue our efforts to facilitate agricultural exports from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”
The loading operations test Ukraine’s ability to reopen maritime corridors at a time when Russia is attempting to reinforce its blockade, especially after pulling out of the grain agreement in July. Moscow continues to launch drone and missile attacks targeting the infrastructure used for Ukrainian grain exports. In retaliation, last week, Ukraine launched multiple attacks using drones and missiles against the Russian naval fleet in and around the Black Sea’s Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
