The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion of the Eastern European country in February 2022.
The merchant ship started its crossing of the Black Sea towards Turkey on Wednesday, despite fears it may be targetted by Putin’s army.
It was carrying more than 30,000 tonnes of cargo in 2,114 containers, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
Mr Kubrakov also noted that the Joseph Shulte was the first ship to use the temporary “humanitarian corridor” announced by Kyiv last week.
This initiative aims at allowing safe passage of civilian ships from and to Ukrainian ports following the collapse of the Black Sea deal in July, caused by Putin’s decision not to renew it. Moscow hasn’t confirmed it will respect it.
Speaking about the corridor, established for civilian vessels only, Mr Kubrakov also wrote on Facebook: “The corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were in the Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi) at the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation.
“According to the Navigational Order of the Ukrainian Navy No. 6, temporary routes for civilian vessels to/from the Black Sea ports of Ukraine came into effect on August 8, 2023.
“Ukraine offered this route in its application to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO Council recognizes Ukraine’s international right for free trade navigation and calls on Russia to stop any threats and comply with international conventions.”
After the end of the deal that had allowed grain to be safely transported through the Black Sea despite the ongoing conflict, Russia announced it would consider any ship heading to Odesa or other Ukrainian ports a military target.
Earlier this week, Russia fired warning shots at a ship travelling towards Ukraine.
Russia’s army has since targeted grain infrastructure in Odesa and on the Danube River to destroy grain reserves and exports. On Wednesday, drone air strikes hit storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Kyiv has been increasingly using to transport grain to Europe.
Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said the primary targets of the most recent overnight strike by Russia were port terminals and grain silos.
The Danube delta ports targeted over the past few weeks by Moscow are located only 15km away from the Romanian border.
Thwarting Ukraine’s grain exports can harm Kyiv’s economy – heavily dependent on farming – which has already been harmed by the invasion.
But it also means disrupting world supplies of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food developing nations hugely rely on and of which Kyiv is a prime exporter.
The Russian air strikes came a few hours before Ukraine claimed back the key village of Urozhaine, near the Zaporizhzhia/Donetsk border.
