First Ukraine grain ship cleared after Istanbul inspection

A team from the Joint Coordination Center in the Turkish capital Istanbul on Wednesday completed inspections of the Razoni, the first grain ship to leave Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February, Anadolu Agency reported.

The cargo vessel carrying over 26,500 tons of corn to Lebanon anchored off the Turkish coast near the Black Sea entrance of the Istanbul Strait on Tuesday night for joint inspections. The inspections lasted over an hour. After getting security clearance in Istanbul, the ship will continue sailing to the port of Tripoli.

The ship left the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Monday under a historic deal brokered by Ankara and the UN last month to resume exports of Ukrainian grain exports which has been trapped in the war-struck country for months.

To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, a joint coordination center in Istanbul was officially launched on 27 July, with representatives from Turkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable the safe transportation of commercial foodstuffs and fertilisers from three key Ukrainian ports.

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