A second ship carrying a cargo of Ukrainian grain arrived at the port of Istanbul on Sunday. The Palauan-flagged Aroyat sailed from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on Friday.
The day before, the Resilient Africa ship arrived in Istanbul.
Both ships sailed despite Russian threats to attack any ships sailing from Ukrainian ports.
The first ships – the merchant vessels Resilient Africa and Aroyat – passed through the temporary corridor to Ukrainian ports.
They will load 20,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat for African countries. pic.twitter.com/5Z80mBXvX1
— NEXT (@nexta_tv) September 16, 2023
After Russia withdrew in July from an agreement that allowed Ukrainian agricultural production to be exported to world markets from Black Sea ports despite the war, Ukraine created its own grain transport corridor in the Black Sea.
The Palau-flagged cargo ships Resilient Africa and Aroyat docked in Chornomorsk the day before last Saturday and were scheduled to depart after loading wheat for Africa and Asia. Resilient Africa sailed from a Ukrainian port on Tuesday carrying 3,000 tons of wheat and has arrived at the port of Istanbul.
Aroyat sailed towards the port of Alexandria, Egypt with a cargo of 17,600 wheat.
They were the first two ships to enter a port in the Odessa region since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine without using the corridors stipulated in the grain agreement.
Russia has warned that it will treat merchant ships sailing to Ukrainian ports as military targets.
Three other ships sailed to Ukrainian ports via a corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy to export 127,000 tons of agricultural products and iron ore to China, Egypt and Spain.
Extraordinary! Four ships in Ukraine’s humanitarian supply corridor NOW…
South direction: AROYAT
To the north: AZARA, YING HAO 01, ENEIDA will export 127 thousand tons of agricultural products and iron ore to China, Egypt and Spain. https://t.co/DuuHgzWrtZ https://t.co/4wk8jDBzx9 pic.twitter.com/krGtCSyTaU— David Helms (@davidhelms570) September 22, 2023
Russia and Ukraine are agricultural powerhouses whose harvests are the key to world food security. The entry of Russian troops into neighboring countries and international sanctions against Russia have disrupted the stability of world supplies and markets.
In recent weeks, Russia has destroyed 300,000 tons of ordnance through rocket attacks.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have sought to eliminate Russian dominance in the Black Sea. On Friday, Ukrainian missiles hit the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.
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