Black Sea Grain Initiative Suspended Again: Russia Blocks Registration Of Ships Bound For All Ukrainian Ports

The Black Sea Grain Initiative’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul has announced that it was impossible to draft an inspection plan for 1 June because of the Russian delegation’s latest groundless refusal to register inbound vessels for participation in the grain initiative.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.

According to the statement, Russia registered for inspection only one vessel bound for the Chornomorsk seaport on 30 and 31 May without explanation, while the other members of the JCC approved 10 vessels bound for three Ukrainian ports.

"Russia’s destructive position and the absence of vessels registered for inspection made it impossible to draft an inspection plan for today, about which the JCC secretariat informed all parties," the statement said.

Fifty ships, onto which 2.4 million tons of agricultural products are scheduled to be loaded, are waiting in line for inspection in Turkish territorial waters. This volume of agricultural products is almost double the volume that was exported in May.

Some vessels have been waiting for JCC inspection for more than three months. This will result in losses of more than USD 1 billion, which will affect the final global cost of food.

"The blocking of the registration of new inbound vessels, as well as the blocking of the largest port, Pivdennyi, is a gross violation of the terms of the grain initiative, which the aggressor country also signed. The Ukrainian delegation has sent a letter to the JCC secretariat, demanding the resumption of full-fledged operation of the three inspection teams and the performance of nine inspections per day, as required by the JCC procedures," the ministry said in the statement.

According to the statement, Ukrainian inspectors are currently at the JCC, and they are ready to resume work immediately if the registration of vessels resumes.

"We hope that the initiative’s partners will find a solution and stop this blackmail of the entire world by Russia," the ministry said.

Over 30.5 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products have been exported in the 10 months since the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"The Russian delegation at the JCC has been sabotaging and obstructing the work for seven months, as a result of which the world has failed to receive at least 20 million tons of food," the ministry said.