Cargo ship stuck in Odessa for over a year and a half departs

A Hong Kong-flagged container ship departed the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa after being stuck there for almost a year and half due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The vessel, identified as the Joseph Schulte, set sail using a new temporary corridor for merchant ships, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday.

The route was established for civilian ships to use at their own risk. It was set up after Russia last month terminated a UN-brokered deal to move vital grain exports out of blockaded Ukraine ports.

The ship, under the operation of Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), had set course for the Bosporus, travelling through territorial waters of Ukraine, Romania and Türkiye, the company confirmed.

BSM said the crew was doing well. It thanked "various local stakeholders," the International Maritime Organization and the government of Hong Kong for working to resolve the impasse.

The ship is carrying more than 2,100 containers with about 30,000 tonnes of cargo, according to Ukraine. The nature of the cargo was not specified.

It had been stuck in Odessa since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

No freighter has called at the ports around Odessa since the end of the grain deal in July. Russia considers all ships bound for Ukrainian ports as potential carriers of supplies for the Ukrainian army.