Russia Again Blocks Ship Inspections Under Grain Agreement

Russia once again blocked the inspections of vessels taking part in the Black Sea Grain Initiative (which established a humanitarian maritime corridor to allow ships to export grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine) in Turkish territorial waters on 17 April.

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

According to the statement, Russia’s representatives at the Black Sea Grain Initiative’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul have unilaterally blocked the registration of the vessels that Ukrainian seaports submitted for inclusion in the JCC’s inspection plans since 10 April.

"Instead, the Russians are drawing up their own inspection plan and selecting vessels from the queue at their own discretion, which completely violates the terms of the Grain Initiative and is unacceptable to Ukraine," the statement said.

Consequently, no inspection plan has been drawn up and no vessel has been inspected for the second time in the nine months since the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This jeopardizes the operation of the Grain Initiative, the statement said.

"The Russians have been sabotaging and delaying inspections under various pretexts Since November 2022, which has already led to a reduction in the volume of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the global market by 15-18 million tons," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, since the beginning of April 2023, Russian representatives at the JCC have been trying to interfere in the operations of Ukrainian seaports and exporters by imposing their own criteria for determining the vessels that will take part in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The Russians have been refusing to register three vessels bound for the Pivdennyi seaport (two of which are scheduled to load cargoes for transportation to China) without explanation since 14 April 14, the ministry said. According to the ministry, the Russians are thus trying to establish control over the number of vessels that are loaded and the directions of their operation, which violates international norms and the provisions of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"This is another attempt to dictate one's policy to the entire world, endanger food security, and use food as a weapon. Ukraine categorically rejects the Russians’ latest demands and opposes interference in the operations of Ukrainian ports," the ministry said.