First cargo grain ships arrive in Ukraine through Black Sea using new route

Two cargo ships have arrived in Ukraine using a new route to sail into Black Sea ports defying Russia's effective blockade of its ports.

Two ships reached Chornomorsk on Saturday to load almost 20,000 tonnes of wheat for African and Asian markets, Ukraine's infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media.

The ships will deliver the wheat to Egypt and Israel, the minister added.

The vessels – Resilient Africa and Aroyat – were located between Ukraine’s Danube River delta and Odessa, Bloomberg reported. The ships carry the flags of Palau and crew members are from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ukraine.

The vessels were the first ships to reach a Ukrainian port after Russia pulled out from the Black Sea grain deal, which was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Since Russia’s exit from the deal, prices for grains and oilseeds have already risen and are expected to get higher if the deal isn’t resumed.

Ukraine last month announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the waters to release ships trapped in its ports since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.

At least five vessels have so far left the port of Odesa, using the corridor which hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Kyiv, which has been a global food producer and exporter also wants to use the corridor for its food exports.

"While the UN is not involved in the movement of those vessels, we welcome all efforts for the resumption of normal trade, especially of vital food commodities that help supply and stabilize global food markets," a UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"We continue our efforts to facilitate exports for agricultural products from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

However, the passage of the ships comes at a risk with Russia warning that it would treat any vessels headed to Ukraine’s ports as carriers of weapons. The Russian Navy in August opened fire on a cargo vessel to force it to stop for checks.

“To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons,” the Russian defence ministry said. A Ka-29 helicopter carrying Russian soldiers was then scrambled to inspect the ship.