KYIV: A second cargo vessel, the Aroyat, has departed from the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk after loading grain, an industry source said on Friday.
This departure follows the arrival of two bulk carriers, Resilient Africa and Aroyat, in Ukraine on Saturday and were due to depart after loading almost 20,000 tonnes of wheat for Africa and Asia.
Resilient Africa, carrying 3,000 metric tons of wheat, set sail from Ukraine on Tuesday. These grain loadings serve as a significant test of Ukraine’s capacity to reopen shipping routes. This comes after a UN-brokered agreement that permitted Ukraine to export grain collapsed due to Russia’s withdrawal from the deal.
Ukraine recently introduced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea, aimed at freeing ships trapped in its ports since Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022.
This corridor also serves as an alternative to the failed agreement. It’s worth noting that Moscow has been launching frequent drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian grain export infrastructure.
During Russia’s invasion, Odesa’s three seaports, including Chornomorsk, played a pivotal role in shipping tens of millions of tons of grain under the U.N.-brokered agreement. Currently, five of several vessels that were stuck in Odesa have successfully left the port, utilizing the temporary corridor along the western Black Sea coast, near Romania and Bulgaria.
The Black Sea grain deal was originally brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 to address a global food crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Russia are major players in the world’s grain export market.
