UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths expressed the hope that the first shipment of grain from the Ukrainian Black Sea port could leave as early as Friday, July 29, but “crucial” details for the safe passage of ships on Thursday were still being worked out,
KYIV. UkraineGate . 29 . July. 2022 | Society .
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“We hope that the first ships will depart within a few days – hopefully tomorrow – from these ports,” Griffiths told the UN on July 28.
Details
At the same time, Griffiths emphasized that the operation to restore grain exports from Ukraine is commercial, not humanitarian, however, the UN hopes that poorer countries will be given priority, in particular mentioning Somalia, where almost a quarter of a million people are at risk of starvation.
According to him, the UN World Food Program is “actively considering” the purchase of Ukrainian grain.
The UN’s chief representative at the Joint Coordination Center, Frederick Kenny of the International Maritime Organization, held a meeting with insurers and shipping companies on Wednesday, Griffiths said.
“I’ve been told it’s been … a very encouraging series of conversations. It’s commercially viable,” he said.
The grain ships will be inspected by the Joint Coordination Center in a Turkish port “to make sure there are no contraband or weapons on board,” Griffiths said.
Once the ships start moving and the deal is fully implemented, Griffiths said exports from the ports will eventually reach pre-war levels of around five million tonnes a month. According to data from Ukraine, more than 20 million tons of grain from last year’s harvest are still waiting for export.
A UN spokesman at the center said those inspections would likely take place at an anchorage north of the Bosphorus.
Addition
On July 22, Ukraine, the United Nations, Turkey and Russia signed an agreement (Ukraine and the Russian Federation separately) aimed at ensuring the safe passage of ships entering and leaving three Ukrainian Black Sea ports (“Odesa”, “Chornomorsk”, “Yuzhny” ), which were blocked by the Russian Federation after the invasion of Moscow on February 24.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain, and the port blockade has delayed tens of millions of tons of grain in the country.
Source: Ukrgate