21 ships dedicated to the Black Sea Grain Initiative await further instruction after Russia’s decision to withdraw from humanitarian food program


The organization overseeing the export of grain from Ukraine said that there are 21 vessels awaiting to leave the besieged country.

The Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which oversees the export of agricultural products from Ukraine, said that the ships have a capacity of more than 700,000 metric tons. One ship is chartered by the World Food Program and is carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat destined for the Horn of Africa.

Before the war, Ukraine and Russia accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports until those shipments came to a severe halt for nearly six months.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations-backed deal brokered in July, eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports. The first vessel left Ukraine’s port of Odesa on Aug. 1 carrying more than 26,000 metric tons of corn. Since then, nearly 400 ships carrying a total of 9 million metric tons have departed Ukraine’s ports.

On Saturday, Moscow suspended its participation citing retaliation for Kyiv’s “act of terrorism” against Russian warships.


Source: CNBC