United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed satisfaction with the departure of the first ship carrying grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa to global buyers since Russia launched its offensive, his spokesman says.
“The secretary-general hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the Initiative signed, and that this will bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security especially in the most fragile humanitarian contexts,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, citing the accord signed last month by Russia and Ukraine to unblock grain exports from the latter.
“Ensuring that existing grain and foodstuffs can move to global markets is a humanitarian imperative,” he added.
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from the port of Odesa, Turkey’s defense ministry said Monday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, Razoni left the port of Odesa for Lebanon, the ministry said. A statement from the United Nations said the Razoni is carrying over 26,000 tons of corn.
Agency reports
Data from the Razoni’s Automatic Identification System, a safety tracker for ships at sea, showed the vessel slowly coming out from its berth at Odesa port Monday morning alongside a tug boat.
The ship is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected, before being allowed to proceed, the ministry said.
The corn will head to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation in the grips of what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst financial crises in more than 150 years. A 2020 explosion at its main port in Beirut shattered its capital city and destroyed grain silos there, a part of which collapsed following a week-long fire just Sunday.
“Today Ukraine, together with partners, is taking another step towards preventing world hunger,” said Alexander Kubrakov, the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure.
He said it would also help Ukraine.
