A team from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, Türkiye completed inspections of the Razoni on Wednesday, the first grain-carrying ship to leave Ukraine since the war with Russia erupted months ago.
The Sierra Leone-flagged 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. It had departed from the port of Odesa on Monday under a historic deal brokered by Ankara and the UN last month to resume Ukrainian grain exports.
The inspections lasted over an hour. After getting security clearance in Istanbul, the ship will continue sailing to the port of Tripoli.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a historic deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain that has been stuck for months due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.
To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, a joint coordination center in Istanbul was officially launched on July 27, comprising representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable the safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from the three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Previously, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the JCC consists of five representatives -- both military and civilian -- each from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine, and the UN, and that there would be no military element in the field.
