'Efforts to sail other grain-loaded ships from 3 ports in Ukraine continue'

ANKARA

Preparations and planning of the ships carrying grain and other relevant foodstuffs from three Ukrainian ports are currently underway, said an official from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Saying the center is to monitor and record commercial vessels that will comply with the initiative, JCC Coordinator Rear Adm. Ozcan Altunbulak stated the center will also focus on entrance and exit plans of the ships from and to Ukrainian ports.

"The route to follow during the ship's departure, the humanitarian corridor it follows, and the detailed issues regarding its inspection are carried out in line with the procedures and principles agreed at the center," Altunbulak said.

He also said efforts to ship out additional vessels continue at Ukrainian ports, adding that the first grain-loaded ship that left Ukraine under the historic deal is expected to anchor off the coast of Istanbul at midnight.

The Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni is to continue its route after inspections carried out by representatives from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine, and the UN are finalized.

Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tons of corn, will continue on its way to the port of Tripoli following inspections.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, a joint coordination center in Istanbul was officially opened on Wednesday, comprising representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable the safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from the three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports.