On Monday, the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain left Odessa for Lebanon. Russia has committed not to attack grain-carrying ships in the Black Sea.
The biggest challenges for Ukrainian grain transport in the Black Sea are sea mines and the fear of possible new attacks from Russia.
Ukraine has mined the representations of its ports during the war to prevent the Russians from entering them.
At least at this stage, there is no intention to remove the mines, because it would take too long. Both Ukraine and Russia have committed not to attack ships carrying grain.
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa for Lebanon on Monday. Ship mechanic working on the Razoni ship Abdullah Jendi was very much looking forward to getting back to his home country. According to Jendi, the atmosphere was relaxed, although there were also concerns.
– Sea mines scare me. We need two or three hours just to get out of territorial waters. We hope nothing happens and we don’t make mistakes, Jendi said in an interview with Reuters.
Apart from the sea mines, the trip from Odessa to Lebanon was not scary.
– As sailors, we are used to everything else.
The Russian attack is worrying
Russia and Ukraine agreed to start grain shipments on July 22. The agreement applies to the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny and is valid for 120 days.
Ships departing from Ukrainian ports are inspected in Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the Russian attack on the port of Odessa worrisome.
– In the end, this was not a blow that would have prevented the operation of the port. But attacks like this must not happen again. We hope that the agreement will work without problems, Çavuşoğlu said, according to the AFP news agency.
Ukraine is a major grain exporter
The interruption of grain transport in the Black Sea has particularly affected many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, before the war, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon received about 80 percent of their imported grain from Ukraine and Russia.
The interruption of grain shipments has also affected countries on the east coast of Africa, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. According to the UN, for example, more than half of Somalia’s imported wheat came from Ukraine in 2020.