Number Of Ship Calls To Ukrainian Ports As Part Of "Grain Agreement" Continues To Decrease Due To Russia's Interference

The number of ship calls to Ukrainian ports within the framework of the "grain agreement" continues to decrease due to interference from Russia.

This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to the report, in February, only 71 vessels were inspected at the entrance to the ports of Great Odesa to load Ukrainian agricultural products by the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, which is by 17 vessels less than in January.

"Such a negative dynamic is a consequence of Russia's systemic destructive policy, which is aimed at inhibiting the inspection of vessels in the territorial waters of Turkey. In particular, all parties to the JCC, including the Russian Federation, agree to carry out from 9 to 12 inspections per day. However, Russian inspectors, without explaining the reasons, carry out no more than 6. After that, the Russian inspectors stop their work, making it impossible for the inspectors of Turkey, the UN and Ukraine to work. In addition, there has been a systematic stoppage of inspections after 3:30 p.m., although the official working day of the inspectors continues during the daylight hours. Also, the Russian side, contrary to the procedures of the JCC, requires inspection of ship's documents, which have nothing to do with the subject of the inspection itself," the message reads.

Thus, according to the notification, the Russian Federation is extending the duration of the ship's inspection.

"Therefore, only 149 inspections were carried out in February (173 in January) against the planned 296. The trend continues in March, when negotiations are underway regarding the extension of the "Grain Initiative". In addition, the result of such actions is a stable queue of vessels (from 120 to 140 ships), and Ukrainian ports are facing the problem of a shortage of new fleet for loading. Today, 86 ships that are heading for loading are awaiting inspection in the territorial waters of Turkey," the message reads.

According to the report, from August 1, 2022, 814 ships exported 24.4 million tons of Ukrainian food to the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa from the ports of Great Odesa.

"Due to the shortage of the new fleet and the queue in the territorial waters of Turkey, the export of agricultural products through the "grain corridor" does not exceed 3.4 million tons per month, this is despite the ability to give the world 6 million tons of products of Ukrainian farmers," the message states.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on March 13, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Vershinin stated that Russia is ready to extend the "grain agreement", but only for 60 days.

In turn, the Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine - the Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov noted that this contradicts the terms of the agreement.

On August 5, the first caravan with Ukrainian grain left the sea ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.