The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni cargo ship, with 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn aboard, leaves the port in the Odesa region of Ukraine on August 1, 2022, according to a photo provided by the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry Press Office. ANKARA Three ships packed with grain and other food supplies that have been waiting in Ukrainian ports are due to set sail on Friday, according to the semi-official Anadolu Agency on Thursday, quoting Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
Akar spoke with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on Thursday about the export of grain from Ukraine.
The first grain-laden cargo ship leaving the Ukrainian port under a UN-brokered deal anchored off Istanbul on the Black Sea and was inspected by a team of representatives from the newly established Joint Coordination Center on Wednesday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni left Odesa early on Monday with 26,527 tons of corn and sailed for Lebanon after the inspection was completed on Wednesday.
The JCC was inaugurated in Istanbul last week. It has 20 representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations, and T rkiye to monitor the implementation of the grain shipment process.
On July 22, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal with the UN to allow food and fertilizer exports from the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, namely Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.
READ MORE: UN: Details for Ukraine grain shipments are still being worked out.
The deal aims to allow safe passage for ships carrying grain to world markets, despite concerns about food shortages due to the prolonged crisis in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat suppliers.