The inspection of the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain under a UN-brokered deal to resume exports from the war-torn country has been completed and the vessel is expected to pass through the Bosphorus Strait “shortly” as it heads for its final destination in Lebanon.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said on August 3 that the inspection was performed by a 20-person team from a special joint coordination center that boarded the Sierra Leone-registered Razoni earlier in the day off the mouth of the Bosphorus Strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and on to the Aegean Sea.

The Razoni, which set sail from Odesa early on August 1 carrying 26,527 tons of corn bound for Tripoli, Lebanon, arrived off Turkey’s Black Sea coast late on August 2 after a delay caused by bad weather.

In line with agreed procedure, the inspections are not to take place in the port of Istanbul but at sea.Some 27 vessels have been waiting in three Ukrainian ports with cargo and signed contracts, ready to go, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Turkish Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak, a coordinator at the joint center, said “preparations and planning” are continuing for other ships expected to leave Ukraine’s ports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more time is needed to see whether other grain shipments would follow.

“Just recently, thanks to the UN in partnership with Turkey, we had a first ship with the delivery of grain, but it’s still nothing. But we hope it’s a tendency that will continue,: he told students in Australia in an online conference.

The U.S. State Department welcomed news of what it called a “significant step, which raises hope of bringing the millions of tons of grain stuck at Ukraine’s ports to those facing food insecurity around the world.”

But the State Department warned that Russia must fulfil it obligations under the agreement and end attacks on Ukrainian farmland.

“This is only a first step, and continued implementation of the July 21 UN-facilitated deal is essential to bolster food security around the world. Russia must meet its commitments, including by facilitating unimpeded exports of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. Russia must also end its attacks that are rendering farmland in Ukraine unusable and destroying agricultural infrastructure,” it said.

An unnamed senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier on August 2 that Ankara expects roughly one grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports daily as long as the UN-brokered agreement holds.

The halt of grain shipments from Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, contributed to a spike in food prices and caused concern about countries in the Middle East and African receiving enough grain and other commodities to feed their populations.

Ukraine blamed a Russian blockade of its ports for the halt in grain shipments, while Russia blamed mines in the water placed by Ukraine as protection from a Russian amphibious assault.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-grain-turkey-inspection-lebanon/31971879.html