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☆ Five new cargo vessels heading for Ukrainian Black Sea ports -MarineTraffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Liberia-flagged bulk carriers Eneida and Ying Hao 01 are seen in the sea as they leave the sea ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Odesa, Ukraine October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Five new ships are on their way to Ukrainian sea ports using a new corridor opened to resume predominantly agricultural exports, an alternative arrangement to the Black Sea grain deal blocked by Russia, the MarineTraffic database showed on Sunday. The MarineTraffic database showed earlier on Sunday that three cargo vessels left Ukrainian Black Sea ports after loading, the latest to sail since Kyiv set up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" after Russia quit a deal allowing safe passage for Ukraine exports. The database identified the five vessels heading towards the ports as Olga, Ida, Forza Doria, New Legacy and Danny Boy. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said last month that three cargo ships were heading towards Ukrainian Black Sea ports for further food and steel exports.

Persons: Ying Hao, Stringer, Olga, Ida, Forza, Danny Boy, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Moscow, Pavel Polityuk, Michael Perry, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Russia, United, Thomson Locations: Liberia, Chornomorsk, Ukraine, Odesa, Russia, Ukrainian, Forza Doria, China, Egypt, Spain, Moscow, Kyiv, United Nations, Turkey

☆ Five more cargo ships head for Ukraine's Black Sea ports -deputy PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Liberia-flagged bulk carriers Eneida and Ying Hao 01 are seen in the sea as they leave the sea ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Odesa, Ukraine October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Five more ships are on their way to Ukrainian sea ports using a new corridor opened to resume predominantly agricultural exports, an alternative arrangement to the Black Sea grain deal blocked by Russia, a top Ukrainian official said on Sunday. "5 new vessels are waiting to be loaded in Ukrainian ports," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on the X social media platform. "Bulk carriers OLGA, IDA, DANNY BOY, FORZA DORIA, NEW LEGACY are going to export almost 120,000 (metric) tons of Ukrainian grain to Africa and Europe," he added. The three cargo vessels are the latest to sail since Kyiv set up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" after Russia quit a deal allowing safe passage for Ukraine's exports.

Persons: Ying Hao, Stringer, Oleksandr Kubrakov, DANNY BOY, FORZA, Kubrakov, Moscow, Pavel Polityuk, Michael Perry, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, FORZA DORIA, Ukrainian Navy, Russia, United, Thomson Locations: Liberia, Chornomorsk, Ukraine, Odesa, Russia, Africa, Europe, Moscow, Kyiv, United Nations, Turkey

☆ Cargo vessel sets off from Ukrainian Black Sea port - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A cargo vessel set off from a Ukrainian Black Sea port on Tuesday after loading but remained close to the port, an industry source said, without giving any further details. The vessel was the latest to set off from a Ukrainian Black Sea port since Kyiv established a temporary "humanitarian corridor" hugging the coastline following Russia's decision to quit a deal that had allowed safe Ukrainian exports. Two bulk carriers left the port of Chornomorsk last week via the humanitarian corridor. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said last week that three cargo ships were heading towards Ukrainian Black Sea ports for further food and steel exports. The blockage of deep sea ports has already affected Ukrainian grain exports, which have decreased by 51% so far in September to 1.57 million tons from 3.21 million tons in the corresponding period last year.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ying Hao, Moscow, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Organizations: United, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Kyiv, Chornomorsk, China, Egypt, Spain, Ukraine, Moscow, United Nations, Turkey, Russia

☆ First big grain ship leaves Ukraine's Black Sea port
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was the second of two bulk carriers to leave the port this week using what Kyiv calls a new temporary humanitarian corridor. From July 2022 the ports were reopened under the UN-backed grain deal, allowing Russia to inspect ships for arms. Kyiv has also kept up exports from river ports on the Danube while its Black Sea ports were shut. Russia has launched frequent drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian grain export infrastructure in what Ukraine and its allies call attacks with no military justification. Odesa's three seaports, including Chornomorsk, shipped tens of millions of tons of grain during Russia's invasion under the U.N.-brokered deal before Russia abandoned it.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Moscow, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Hogue, Miral Fahmy, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Kyiv, UN, Thomson Locations: Palau, Ukrainian, Moscow, Egypt, Africa, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Bulgarian

☆ Ukraine Renews Push to Get Its Grain Out to the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine took two bold steps toward securing export routes for its vital grain industry on Tuesday, sending a ship loaded with wheat along a new Black Sea route in the face of Russian naval aggression and challenging one of its main allies, Poland, over its opposition to Ukrainian imports. In an initial success, the ship, the Resilient Africa, which is loaded with 3,000 metric tons of wheat, crossed the maritime border into Romanian waters on Tuesday evening. It arrived more than 12 hours after it left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, according to the MarineTraffic website, which tracks global shipping using satellite data. The importance of establishing a new sea route grew still greater this week in the face of a renewed dispute between Ukraine and its grain-producing European Union neighbors about overland exports. But though the Resilient Africa appears to have navigated itself safely out of Ukrainian waters, experts say much uncertainty remains over whether the country will be able to rebuild a vital industry weighed down by 19 months of war.

Locations: Ukraine, Poland, Africa, Chornomorsk

☆ Cargo vessel leaves Ukraine's Chornomorsk after loading grain - Deputy PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Palau-flagged general cargo vessel Resilient Africa loaded with grain, leaves the sea port of Chornomorsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Odesa, Ukraine September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A cargo vessel carrying grain has left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk for the first time since a grain deal collapsed, a top government official said on Tuesday, in a test of Ukraine's ability to unblock its seaports for grain export. "The vessel RESILIENT AFRICA, carrying 3,000 tons of wheat, has left the port of Chornomorsk and is heading towards the Bosphorus," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook. Kubrakov said the second ship, Aroyat, is still moored in Chornomorsk and is being loaded with wheat for Egypt. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Stringer, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Kubrakov, Aroyat, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Christopher Cushing, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Facebook, Chornomorsk, Ukrainian Navy, Thomson Locations: Palau, Africa, Chornomorsk, Ukraine, Odesa, Ukrainian, AFRICA, Russia, Asia, Egypt, Moscow, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey

The first cargo vessels to arrive at a Ukrainian port since Russia terminated a deal under which Kyiv was able to export food crops across the Black Sea were moored on Sunday in Chornomorsk, offering early signs of hope that Ukraine could open an alternative route for grain shipments. Ukraine’s grain exports provide a vital source of foreign exchange and are also important for global food markets, particularly for countries in Africa and the Middle East that are facing hunger. Russia has imposed a de facto blockade on Ukrainian cargo ships since July, when the Kremlin terminated an agreement that had allowed Kyiv to export grain by sea, a deal that was seen as essential to keeping the world’s food prices stable. But establishing a corridor secure enough for a regular flow of cargo vessels to sail from Ukraine’s seaports is risky, not least because the Black Sea has become an increasingly critical theater in the war as Ukraine contests Russia’s naval dominance. Data from the Marine Traffic website showed the vessels moored in Chornomorsk on Sunday morning.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov Organizations: Kyiv, Kremlin, Marine Locations: Russia, Chornomorsk, Ukraine, Africa, Asia

☆ Ukraine reports new attack on grain silos but cargo ship sets sail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte leaves the sea port, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released August 16, 2023. Russia has made regular air strikes on Ukrainian ports and grain silos since mid-July, when it pulled out of the U.N.-backed deal for Ukraine to export grain. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), which owns the ship jointly with a Chinese bank, confirmed that the ship was en route to Istanbul. Kubrakov said it was carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers, adding that the corridor would primarily be used to evacuate ships from the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi. DANUBE PORTSUkraine 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.

Persons: Joseph Schulte, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, Kubrakov, Urozhaine, Hanna Maliar, Izmail, Lidia Kelly, Gus Trompiz, Matthias Inverardi, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Benchmark, United Nations, Reuters, United Nations Conference, Trade, Development, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Odesa, Russia, KYIV, Russian, Hong, Kong, Reni, Moscow, Big, Istanbul, Chornomorsk, Pivdennyi, Ukrainian, Urozhaine, Azov, Constanta, Romania, Black, Turkey, Nairobi

☆ Container ship leaves Russian-blocked Ukrainian port of Odesa - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte leaves the sea port, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released August 16, 2023. "A first vessel used the temporary corridor for merchant ships to/from the ports of Big Odesa," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook. He identified the container ship as the Hong-Kong-flagged JOSEPH SCHULTE and said it had been in the port since Feb. 23, 2022, the day before the invasion. He said the ship was carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers. "The corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were in the Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi) at the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation," the deputy prime minister said.

Persons: Joseph Schulte, Oleksandr Kubrakov, JOSEPH SCHULTE, Pavel Polityuk, Jacqueline Wong, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Odesa, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Big, Hong, Kong

☆ Ukraine announces 'humanitarian corridor' for ships stuck in Black Sea ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A grain ship carrying Ukrainian grain is seen in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Ukrainian port of Odesa, Ukraine November 2, 2022. At least initially, the corridor appears to apply to vessels such as container ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the Feb. 2022 invasion, and were not covered by the deal that opened the ports for grain shipments last year. "Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor has started to work," Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's navy, told Reuters by telephone. It said a risk remained from mines in the Black Sea and the military threat from Russia. Last month, Moscow quit the year-old Black Sea grain deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely export agricultural products, saying that a parallel deal to help ease Russia's own grain and fertiliser exports was not being implemented.

Persons: Serhii, Chalyk, Moscow, Olena, Tom Balmforth, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, International Maritime Organization, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Odesa, Russia, Chornomorsk

☆ Global food insecurity caused by Russia-Ukraine war tops agenda as U.S. assumes UN Security Council presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during a joint press conference before a UN Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters on June 23, 2023 in New York City. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield slammed Moscow's exit from the deal last month, calling it "another blow to the world's most vulnerable." The bottom line is this: The world needs the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia warned that if the Black Sea Grain Initiative did not incorporate fertilizer products into the exports, Moscow would not renew the agreement. Following Moscow's departure from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russian forces rained missiles on Ukrainian ports and agricultural facilities, sending wheat prices on a three-day spike.

Persons: Linda Thomas, Greenfield, New York City . WASHINGTON —, United Nations Linda Thomas, Thomas, That's, Sergey Lavrov, —, Antony Blinken Organizations: Representative, United Nations, UN Security, United Nations Security Council, Security, Food, Initiative, Russian, U.S, Thomas Locations: New York City . WASHINGTON, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's, Odesa, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Moscow

And earlier this week, Russia targeted a Ukrainian port on the Danube River near NATO ally Romania. Now, Russia’s defense ministry has warned that ships sailing to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be viewed as military targets. Two thirds of the wheat that left Ukraine via the Black Sea ports went to developing countries, said Power. Russian drones attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure on the Danube river, targeting Ukrainian grain stocks and destroying storage hangars, the Ukrainian Army said. “We believe its targeting might also include attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

Persons: Barbara Woodward, Moscow’s, United Nations Linda, Thomas Greenfield, “, ”, Samantha Power, Antony Blinken, António Guterres, Bulgaria –, Power, Kees Huizinga, Huizinga, ” Katherine Brucker Organizations: CNN, United Nations, NATO, European, US Agency for International Development, UN, Romania, European Commission, Aspen Security, AP, U.S . Agency for International, Biden, Ukrainian Army, Ukraine Operational Command, European Union, Organization for Security, Cooperation Locations: Ukraine, United, Russia, Odesa, Ukrainian, Turkey, Kerch, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, West, United States, Europe

If the Black Sea is closed, the Danube is one of the main routes which we will need to use," he told Reuters by phone. Police said Danube grain warehouses had been hit on Monday in a drone attack along with tanks for storing other cargo. Since Monday's air strikes, the Danube channel has seen shipping disruptions, although it was unclear why there was a slowdown of vessel traffic. INSURANCE RATES RISEInsurance sources have said war risk cover for Ukraine's ports that was part of the defunct Black Sea grain deal had been suspended with some insurance providers reviewing provisions for Danube ports. The attack on the Danube infrastructure followed a week of Russian strikes that hit grain-related infrastructure at Odesa's main ports.

Persons: Russia's, Denys Marchuk, Carlos Mera, Mera, Marchuk, Danilov, Olena Harmash, Sybille de La, Tom Balmforth, William Maclean Organizations: Ukrainian Agrarian, Reuters, Police, EU, Romania, Agri Commodities Markets Research, Rabobank, Insurance, Kyiv, Russia, CMA CGM, National Security, Defence Council, Thomson Locations: KYIV, Moscow, Odesa, Reni, NATO, Russia, Izmail, Ukraine, China, Chornomorsk, Ukrainian, Italy, Kyiv, Western, Paris

☆ Three killed, Chinese consulate damaged in Russian attack on Ukraine's port cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Viktoria Lakezina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Rescuers work at a site of an administrative building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine July 20, 2023. In Odesa, a security guard was killed and at least eight other people were hurt, including a child, Kiper said. A Russian attack on the port of Chornomorsk on Wednesday damaged grain export infrastructure as well as the agricultural products Zelenskiy said were meant for China. Ukrainian officials see the air strikes as an attack on global food security because Kyiv is a major grain exporter. Authorities in the northeastern region of Kharkiv said separately a 61-year-old man had been killed there by Russian shelling on Thursday.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Oleh Kiper, Zelenskiy, Kiper, Oleksandr Senkevych, Vitaliy Kim, Mykhailo Podolayk, Dan Peleschuk, Timothy Organizations: Press, State Emergency Service of, Companies, Regional, Fire, UN Security Council, Twitter, Authorities, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Handout, Ukrainian, Russia, MYKOLAIV, Black, Beijing, China, Moscow, Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv

☆ As Russia Strikes on Ukraine's Ports, White House Warns Ships May Be Next
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Russia’s moves have profound implications for the export of Ukraine’s grain, a commodity vital for its own economy and world grain markets. How have Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian ports affected the situation? Since Monday’s announcement, Russia has launched a series of nightly aerial attacks on Ukrainian ports, killing and wounding civilians. Six nations have a Black Sea coastline and it is a main conduit for Russia’s grain exports. Last summer, the European Union took steps to smooth a path for Ukraine’s overland grain exports, given the Russian Black Sea blockade.

Persons: Sal Gilbertie, Oleksandr Gimanov, Volodymyr Zelensky, António Guterres, Chris Mcgrath, Vladimir V, Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reni, Benoît Fayaud, Arif Husain, ”, Maciek, Mateusz Morawiecki, ” Monika Pronczuk Organizations: Ministry of Defense, Initiative, World Food, ., Agence France, United Nations, Getty, Strategie, European Union, The New York Times Ministers Locations: Kushuhum, Ukraine’s, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, U.S, Chornomorsk, Odesa, Turkey, Istanbul, China, Poland, Izmail, Romanian, Constanta, Russian, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia

ISLAMABAD, July 20 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called for the Black Sea grain initiative to be restored to meet the challenge of global food insecurity. "It is not only in our interest but in the world's interest that this grain initiative is restored," Zardari said. The Black Sea grain deal expired on Monday after Russia quit, despite a U.N. offer to President Vladimir Putin to re-establish access for a Russian bank to the SWIFT international payment system in return for an extension. The U.N. estimates the grain deal lowered food prices globally by 20%. Russia has warned that ships sailing to the Ukrainian Black Sea ports from Thursday will be seen as potential military targets.

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, General Antonio Guterres, Zardari, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Kuleba, Asif Shahzad, David Evans, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ukrainian, United Nations, Thomson, Reuters Locations: ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow, Pakistan, Russian, Chornomorsk, China, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Shahid, Karachi

☆ A landmark agricultural deal that guarantees food security for tens of millions is set to expire on Monday as Russia debates its renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of produce from three major ports, helping to bring down global food prices down after they spiked following Russia's invasion. Last week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining proposals to salvage the deal. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Nacho Doce | ReutersBefore Russian troops poured over Ukraine's borders in late February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports. Those agricultural shipments came to a halt for nearly six months until representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. One of Moscow's top demands though is for the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, to return to the SWIFT banking system.

Persons: Akos Stiller, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Sean Gallup, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, That's, SWIFT Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON, Kremlin, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Food, Sea Initiative, Russian Agricultural Bank, Society, Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Locations: Bicske, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, UN, Turkey, Odesa, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Yuzhny, Moscow's

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with African leaders on June 17 in Russia. The Black Sea grain deal: Putin also claimed "the crisis on the global food market is not a consequence of conflict in Ukraine." “Ukrainian grain supply to the world’s markets doesn’t solve the problem of world hunger,” he said. “Countries in need should not suffer, so Moscow went to great lengths to ensure the supply of Ukrainian grain to African countries,” Putin said. Ramaphosa also pushed for "opening up of the movement of the grains across the Black Sea so whatever blockages there are should be released."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, ” Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramaphosa, Maria Lvova Organizations: United Nations, “, Initiative, African Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, ”, Turkey, Africa, Russian

☆ Explainer: What is Russia's problem with the Black Sea grain deal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Putin said he would discuss the future of the grain deal with visiting African leaders on Saturday. THE PACKAGE DEALThe United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative last July to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and blockade of its Black Sea ports. Under the Black Sea grain deal, more than 625,000 tonnes of grain has so far been shipped by the WFP for aid operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen. Until the ammonia pipeline is restarted, Moscow has said it will limit the number of vessels allowed to travel to Pivdennyi port under the Black Sea grain deal. RUSSIAN GRAIN, FERTILIZER EXPORTSWhile exports of Russian wheat and some fertilisers have risen since the war, exports of Russian ammonia and potassium-based fertilizers have plummeted.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Stephane Dujarric, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, JPM.N, Daniel Wallis Organizations: United, United Nations, Food Programme, The United Nations, Democratic, Agricultural Bank, European Union, EU, JPMorgan Chase, reassurances, U.S ., African Export, Import Bank, Reuters, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, United States, America, SWIFT, Russia's Togliatti, Ukraine's, Ukrainian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, East

☆ UN concerned by lack of grain ships going to one Ukrainian port
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea grain deal - brokered by the U.N. and Turkey last July - allows for the safe export of ammonia and Russia has been pushing for the pipeline to be restarted. Russia agreed last week for the Black Sea pact to be extended for two months. The Black Sea grain deal ground to a halt last week as Russia decided whether to continue it. He noted that no fertilizers, including ammonia, had yet been exported under the Black Sea agreement. The Kremlin said on Monday that the EU's reluctance to reconnect Russia's state agricultural bank to SWIFT showed the bloc's "non-constructive stance" on the Black Sea grain deal.

☆ Black Sea grain deal: A crucial pact aimed at averting a global food crisis has been extended
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —A crucial deal aimed at averting a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been extended for two months. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday an agreement has been reached with Russia and Ukraine to extend the Black Sea grain deal. Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesWhat is the Black Sea grain deal and why is it important? The Black Sea grain deal was first reached in July 2022. The Black Sea grain deal was an agreement made between Russia and Ukraine – however, it was not a direct agreement.

Summary Russia to West: remove obstacles to agricultural exportsLavrov: West should take UN proposals seriouslyLavrov: Ukraine may have to use land/rivers for exportsLavrov: Russia may work around Black Sea grain dealMOSCOW, April 7 (Reuters) - Russia warned the West on Friday that unless obstacles to its exports of grain and fertilisers were removed, then Ukraine would have to export grain over land and Moscow would work outside the UN-brokered landmark grain export deal. The Black Sea grain deal is an attempt by the United Nations to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two. The deal, first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN in July last year and twice extended, allows for the export of food and fertiliser, including ammonia from Ukraine's Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. If the West continued to refuse to remove the obstacles to Russian exports, Moscow would work around the grain deal, Lavrov said beside his Turkish counterpart at a news conference in Ankara. Since its signing, the 120-day grain deal has been extended twice, once in November and a second time in March, though Russia said the March extension was only for 60 days.

☆ Ukraine Grain Shipments Slow as Export Deal With Russia Nears End
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A vessel filled with grain at the port of Chornomorsk, east of Odessa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, earlier this month. Grain exports from Ukraine have slowed markedly in recent weeks, pushing up global prices, amid shipping delays and concerns about the looming expiration of a United Nations-backed deal to give food cargoes safe passage. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year had initially trapped shipments of wheat, sunflower oil and other agricultural products, sparking concerns of a global food crisis. Shipments then recovered later in the year to near prewar levels after Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a U.N.-backed pact to resume food exports via Black Sea ports.

☆ Traffic in Suez Canal normal after ship breakdown dealt with- SCA
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An aerial view of the Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal are pictured through the window of an airplane on a flight between Cairo and Doha, Egypt, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshCAIRO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Shipping traffic in the Suez Canal was proceeding normally on Monday after tugs towed a cargo vessel that broke down during its passage through the waterway, the Canal Authority said. The M/V Glory, which was sailing to China, suffered a technical fault when it was 38km into its passage southward through the canal, before being towed by four tugs to a repair area, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement. The Suez Canal is one of the world's busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. In 2021, a huge container ship, the Ever Given, became stuck in high winds across a southern section of the canal, blocking traffic for six days before it could be dislodged.

☆ Efforts under way to refloat ship stuck in Suez Canal, authority says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Efforts are under way to refloat a cargo vessel carrying grain from Ukraine that has run aground in the Suez Canal, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority told Al-Arabiya TV on Monday. The M/V Glory ran aground while joining the southbound convoy transiting through the canal and tug boats are trying to refloat the vessel, Osama Rabie told Al-Arabiya. The ship is a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, data from trackers VesselFinder and MarineTraffic showed. It departed Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on Dec. 25 bound for China with 65,970 metric tonnes of corn, according to the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) overseeing Ukraine grain exports. The Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

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