First Ukraine grain shipment sails through Istanbul, with all eyes on Russia deal
- The Razoni’s voyage from Odesa to Lebanon with 26,000 tonnes of corn is being watched closely for how well the agreement between Kyiv and Moscow holds
- Ukraine is one of the world’s main suppliers of grain, and Russia’s invasion has disrupted exports and sparked a global food crisis
The first shipment of grain from Ukraine since the Kremlin’s invasion five months ago sailed through Istanbul on Wednesday under a landmark deal designed to help alleviate a global food crisis sparked by the war.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni’s voyage from the Black Sea port of Odesa to Lebanon is being watched closely for signs of how the first agreement signed by Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbour holds.
A deal brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations last month lifted a Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea cities and set terms for millions of tonnes of wheat and other grain to start flowing from filled silos and ports.
Ukraine exports roughly half of the sunflower oil used on the world market and is one of the world’s main suppliers of grain.
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‘Relief for world’ as first Ukraine grain ship since start of war departs Odesa
An almost complete halt to its exports helped push up global food prices and make imports prohibitively expensive in some of the poorest countries in the world.
The Razoni took 26,000 tonnes of maize through a specially designated corridor in the mine-infested waters of the Black Sea before reaching the northern edge of the Bosphorus Strait on Tuesday.