First grain ship from Odessa tests Russia-Ukraine agreement

At a speed of 19 kilometers per hour – an athletic sprint – the freighter Razoni sailed away from Odessa on Monday. On board 26,500 tons of maize destined for the port of Tripoli, in Lebanon. It is the first ship to export grain from the important Ukrainian port since the start of the war on February 24. The ship is expected in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Razoni is testing the ‘grain deal’ that Russia and Ukraine concluded a week and a half ago, independently of each other, with Turkey and the UN. After the months-long blockade of the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhne, Ukraine is again allowed to export certain agricultural products.

Russia immediately tempered expectations of the deal by firing missiles at the port of Odessa less than 24 hours later. Despite this, Ukraine decided to seize the opportunity. The country has more than 20 million tons of grains in storage and needs to make room for the upcoming harvests. The war-exhausted country can also put the money to good use.

Also read: Russia and Ukraine agree on free grain transit

Last year, 10 percent of global wheat exports came from Ukraine. Especially countries in the Middle East and Africa eager for Ukrainian wheat and other grains. The destination Lebanon is therefore not a coincidence. About 60 percent of Lebanese wheat imports last year came from Ukraine.

in the deal is fixed that the ships are accompanied by Ukrainian naval vessels. It has also been agreed that Russia may not attack those ships and the port. And that Turkey controls exports for contraband, under UN supervisionbefore it is let through.

naval mines

Still, the route remains exciting. And not just because Russia is capricious in its compliance with agreements on the use of force. Ukraine has laid sea mines off the coast to prevent an invasion from the water. It is unknown how much of it is involved. In principle, Ukraine should know where they are, but they sometimes drift. Like this weekend when for the second time since the beginning of the war, a naval mine surfaced off the coast of Romania. Also near Turkey and Bulgaria are the past months stray mines neutralized.

“The grain corridor has been cleared of mines as far as I know,” said Ukrainian journalist Serhi Dibrov, who monitors the military situation in the Black Sea for local publication Dumskaya. “But a lot of mines have drifted, including to the coast, so it’s not very safe.” In addition, according to Dibrov, the Russian navy has the same mines, because they date from Soviet times, and would have placed those mines in the Black Sea as well. If things go wrong, according to Dibrov, it is almost impossible to find out who the explosive came from.

The legacy comes with a second danger: “They’re not that reliable,” said Dibrov, referring to the detonator that might or might not go off unexpectedly.

Still, Dibrov is not too concerned about floating naval bombs. “In my opinion, a mine is not a real weapon. Threatening with mines is very effective. Russia can lay three mines in this way and if they are found, all traffic will immediately come to a halt.”

New danger

Jaime Karremann of navalships.nl trusts the authorities’ judgment to start sailing again, despite the sea mines: “Apparently they have made an assessment and decided that the risk is low enough.”

The removal of the sea mines for the grain route probably does not put Odessa in greater danger for a Russian invasion of the city. “They also have missiles, which is the main defense,” says Karremann. The route runs along the coast, within range of Ukrainian missile systems.

Many mines have drifted, also to the coast, so it is not very safe

Serhi Dibrov Ukrainian journalist

Also read: ‘Russia spits on agreement’ with attack on Odessa port

Dibrov also sees an indication in the grain agreement that a kind of stalemate has arisen on the western side of the Black Sea. „By sinking [het Russische vlaggenschip] the Moskva, and the Russian loss of Snake Island, has created a situation in which Russia does not have complete control over the sea. At the same time, it is impossible for Ukraine to recapture the entire territory, so it is now neutral territory.”

And if no war goals can be achieved, then just negotiate, Russia seems to have thought too. Simultaneously with the negotiations on the grain corridor, US and EU have agreed on sanctions easingso that Russia itself could also more easily import and export agricultural products, such as potato and fruit seeds and fertilizers.

If the ‘test run’ of the Razoni goes safely in Istanbul, there will be 16 more ships waiting in the port to leave the country after months, writes. the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakovon Facebook.