KYIV, UKRAINE — Three ships left Ukrainian ports on Oct. 1, and five more ships are on their way to ports using a new corridor opened by Ukraine mainly for agricultural exports as an alternative to the Black Sea Grain Initiative quit by Russia, Reuters reported.
“Five new vessels are waiting to be loaded in Ukrainian ports,” Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on the X social media platform. “Bulk carriers OLGA, IDA, DANNY BOY, FORZA DORIA, NEW LEGACY are going to export almost 120,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain to Africa and Europe.”
Kubrakov also said that three bulk carriers – Azara, Ying Hao 01 and Eneida – left Ukrainian ports earlier on Oct. 1 using the “temporary corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy” and carrying 127,000 tonnes of agricultural products and iron ore.
The three cargo vessels are the latest to sail since Ukraine set up a temporary “humanitarian corridor” after Russia quit a deal allowing safe passage for Ukraine's exports. The corridor hugs the western coastline near Romania and Bulgaria.
After it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia closed off the Black Sea ports of one of the world’s biggest suppliers of grain. The ports were reopened in July 2022 under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that was extended several times beforeRussia ended its participationin July. The initiative had allowed for the export of 33 million tonnes of grain.
