The Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has confirmed that 15 vessels loaded with agricultural products are technically ready to leave Ukrainian seaports under the Istanbul Agreement while two more vessels are completing preparations for navigation.
The CFTS portal reported this, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
Two-way export traffic will be established after these ships depart from the seaports, with ships allowed to enter ports to be loaded with agricultural products, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi said.
According to him, the ships that have been readied for departure aim primarily to transport grain crops (corn, wheat, and barley). Shipping of oilseeds and processed agricultural products is also planned.
Each vessel is capable of carrying between 10,000 to 60,000 tons of agricultural products, Vysotskyi said.
The Sierra Leonean-flagged Razoni cargo ship carrying 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn left the Odesa seaport on 1 August, becoming the first ship to leave the Ukrainian Black Sea port since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Corn is being exported to North Africa. The monitoring by the four-way Joint Coordination Center that was established in Istanbul primarily applies to the passage of the vessels to the Bosporus, from where they will have a free trajectory along the classic routes of the relevant commercial vessels," Vysotskyi said.
