The First Cargo Ship Departs Ukraine’s New Black Sea Corridor
The first cargo ship to use Ukraine’s new Black Sea corridor departed the port of Odessa on Wednesday, in a test of Russia’s threat to attack shipping after it abandoned a deal last month allowing exports of Ukrainian grain.
The departure of the Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte, which had been in the port since Feb. 23, 2022 – the day before Russia’s invasion – followed a new Russian attack on Ukraine’s grain export infrastructure.
Russian Air Strikes Damage Grain Silos and Warehouses
Russian air strikes damaged grain silos and warehouses at one of the Danube river ports, the governor of the Odessa region said, releasing photos showing destroyed storage facilities and piles of scattered grain and sunflowers.
Governor Oleh Kiper said it was a key facility for grain shipments and the president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak named the port as Reni. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. An industry source said the port was continuing operations.
Impact on Chicago Wheat Futures
Benchmark Chicago wheat futures were up about 1% after the news broke on Wednesday morning, adding to a slight earlier gain as they recovered from a two-month low on Tuesday.
Russia’s Ongoing Attacks and Threats
Russia has made regular air strikes on Ukrainian ports and grain silos since pulling out of the Türkiye and the U.N.-backed deal in mid-July and has threatened to treat any ships leaving Ukraine as potential military targets. On Sunday it fired warning shots at a ship travelling towards Ukraine.
Despite the threats, Ukraine last week announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports, pledging full transparency to make clear they were serving no military purpose.
First Vessel Utilizing the Temporary Corridor
“A first vessel used the temporary corridor for merchant ships to/from the ports of Big Odessa,” Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook.
Details of the Departing Cargo Ship
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), which owns the ship jointly with a Chinese bank, confirmed that the ship was en route to Istanbul.
The ship was carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers, Kubrakov said, adding that the corridor would primarily be used to evacuate ships stuck in the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa, and Pivdennyi since Russia’s invasion.
Moscow has not indicated whether it would respect the shipping corridor, and shipping and insurance sources have expressed concerns about safety.
Importance of Ukraine’s Grain and Oilseeds Exports
Ukraine is a major grain and oilseeds exporter, and the United Nations says its supplies are vital to developing countries where hunger is a growing concern.
Danube Ports as Alternatives
Ukraine turned to its Danube river ports after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal seeking better terms for exports of its own food and fertilizer.
The river ports, which had accounted for around a quarter of grain exports, have since become the main route out for Ukrainian grain, which is also sent on barges to Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onwards.
Earlier this month, Russia attacked Izmail – Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania, sending global food prices higher as it ramped up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain.
A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting the grain deal.
Moscow said the ship’s captain had failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. Kyiv said the incident was a gross violation of international law and “exemplified Russia’s deliberate policy of endangering the freedom of navigation and safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea.”
Türkiye, which brokered the grain deal alongside the United Nations, has expressed hope that Russia will rejoin it this month.