The cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain has left the port of Chornomorsk through the new route

The vessel RESILIENT AFRICA with 3,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat is heading towards the Bosphorus. It is the first cargo vessel carrying grain to enter and leave Ukraine’s Black Sea port since Russia suspended its participation in the Grain Initiative in July 2023 and withdrew security guarantees for ships navigating in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

RESILIENT AFRICA is one of two vessels that entered the port of Chornomorsk in the middle of September through a temporary corridor for civilian vessels established by the Ukrainian Navy. The second ship, Aroyat, is still moored in Chornomorsk and is being loaded with wheat for Egypt.

“The ships are under the flags of Liberia and Palau, and their crew consists of citizens of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Ukraine,” informed Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.

Earlier, Kubrakov stated that the crews of RESILIENT AFRICA and AROYAT agreed to use this sea route to enter the port of Chornomorsk for loading almost 20,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat for countries in Africa and Asia.

The Ukrainian Navy announced the establishment of the temporary corridor on August 8, 2023. It was primarily used to evacuate ships that had been blocked in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Since then, five vessels have already used the temporary corridor: the container ship JOSEPH SCHULTE, as well as bulk carriers PRIMUS, ANNA-THERESA, OCEAN COURTESY, and PUMA. They were carrying mainly industrial components, such as iron and metal.