First grain ship out of Ukraine passes inspection, world awaits more

Inspectors on Wednesday allowed Ukraine’s first ship loaded with food supplies to leave the Black Sea under a UN deal and head for Lebanon as the world waits for urgently needed food supplies .

The shipment is the first of its kind to leave Ukraine since the war began in February following an agreement last month by Kyiv, Moscow, the UN and Turkey to try to tackle the global food crisis.

Authorities said on Wednesday that 17 other ships were also loaded with food supplies and were awaiting inspection, but there was no word yet on when they might pass through the Black Sea to Turkey’s Bosphorus strait.

A ship carrying Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials heads to the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni for an inspection in the Black Sea off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, on 3 August 2022.
(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

UKRAINE PREPARING FOR THE EXPORT OF GREASE ON THE FIRST SHIP, ZELENSKY IS WAITING FOR THE “SIGNAL” FROM PARTNERS

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said “26,000 metric tons of corn” had gone through after a joint civilian inspection team spent three hours inspecting the ship’s crew and cargo aboard the Razoni .

“We will monitor all ships to make sure that Russia lives up to its commitments,” Brink added.

The Sierra Leonean-flagged Razoni left Odesa port for the first time on Monday, but no other ship is believed to have left any Ukrainian port in the past 48 hours.

Before the war, Ukraine was a major supplier of grain products to the world, and officials have warned for months that millions of tons of grain, corn and wheat products remain hidden in Ukrainian storage containers.

FILE – This video frame capture shows a Syrian cargo ship Laodicea docked at a seaport, on July 29, 2022, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon.
(AP Photo, File)

THE COAST OF UKRAINE IS AGAIN WITH THE UN PREPARING THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF EXPORT GRAIN TO THE BLACK SEA

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni’s trip an “important step”, but officials have not detailed why no other ships have left Ukraine this week.

Under the negotiated agreement, which lasts 120 days, the ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny were allowed to export food products and Russia agreed not to attack Ukrainian naval vessels or port infrastructure.

Despite the July 22 deal, Russia launched a series of missile attacks off the coast of Ukraine, including Odesa, a day after the deal was reached.

Russia claimed it was not responsible for the attacks.

Security personnel stand outside a grain storage terminal at the Odesa Seaport in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, July 29, 2022.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Inspectors said Wednesday that he “obtained valuable information” from the crew of the Razoni as they prepared for their sea voyage to Tripoli, Lebanon.

The Joint Coordination Center said it is “adjusting procedures” as Ukrainians wait for the green light for the departure of the next ship stocked with food products.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.