First Foreign-Flagged Vessel Reached Ukraine Since Russian Attack In Feb 2022

A foreign-flagged vessel arrived on Saturday in Ukraine for the first time since the war began in February 2022. It will be loaded with grains, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov mentioned.

Ukraine is beginning to resume its grain exports in an effort supervised by a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, where Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, and UN personnel collaborate.

Turkey and the UN brokered a deal after the UN warned of potential outbreaks of famine owing to a pause in the grain shipments from Ukraine. Before the invasion, Ukraine and Russia accounted for almost one-third of worldwide wheat exports.

Kubrakov mentioned that the Barbados-flagged general cargo vessel Fulmar S was in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk.

All that is possible to ensure that the ports can receive and tackle more vessels is being done. Specifically, the plan is to reach at least three to five vessels daily in about two weeks, he mentioned on Facebook.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President, said that the resumption of exports was positive, adding that security risks remain. The threat of Russian terrorist acts and provocations continues, and everyone must be aware of this, he mentioned in his late-night video on Saturday. But if Ukraine’s partners fulfil their commitment and assure the security of supplies, this will solve the food crisis.

Ukraine aims to ship about three million tonnes a month from its Black Sea ports, Kubrakov mentioned.

The event is an important market signal that the grain shipment deal is safe and a profitable business opportunity for the ship owners to return to the ports of Ukraine.
About 20 million tonnes of grains from 2021’s crops are still stuck in Ukraine.

References: Hot 96 FM, Reuters