Razoni is the first ship loaded with grain that has been able to leave the Ukrainian port of Odessa since the Russian invasion. The “Razoni” docked Wednesday in the Turkish port of Mesin where its cargo will be unloaded.
He was expected Sunday in the port of Tripoli in Lebanon. The first ship loaded with grain exported by Ukraine finally docked at the port of Mersin, Turkey, on Wednesday. The “Razoni”, a cargo ship flying the Sierra Leonean flag, left the Ukrainian port of Odessa on the Black Sea on August 1 with 26,000 tonnes of corn on board.
According to the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon, “the end buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the shipment due to the delay in the delivery terms (five months)”. “The sender is therefore looking for another recipient. It can be in Lebanon or in another country,” the embassy added.
Questions then arose about the destination of the ship and its cargo. A new buyer has been found in Turkey for the maize carried by the “Razoni”, the Middle East Eye news site reported. And it is in the Turkish port of Mersin that the corn will be unloaded, according to the Ukrinform site.
An agreement signed separately by Russia and Ukraine, and validated by the United Nations and Turkey on July 22 in Istanbul, has allowed the resumption of the export of Ukrainian cereals in order to stem the world food crisis.
Frederick Kenney, a senior UN official overseeing the deal, said on Wednesday that wheat exports will start next week after ships laden with corn, stuck in Ukrainian ports since Russian invasion, were able to leave. “We are seeing a steady increase in the number of ships arriving and departing. This is a good start,” he added.
Reroutings are not uncommon in these types of transactions. “In this type of market, that of grain transport, it is common for the ship to leave without a buyer having announced himself”, explains to the Parisian George Kiourktsoglou, expert in maritime security at the University of Greenwich, in UK. And these kinds of events could even multiply due to the context. Because with soaring food prices, “it will no longer be the exception, but the norm”, predicts George Kiourktsoglou.
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