Ukraine suspended its temporary grain corridor in the Black Sea for three days due to potential threats from Russian warplanes and sea mines, but once again ships are now sailing along the coast of the EU, from the Bosphorus to the Danube Delta and even Odesa.
“It’s still early days for the temporary corridor, but it’s encouraging to see a fairly steady flow of inbound ships. More vessels clearing the ports without incident will also help reassure other interested shipowners who may be on the fence,” said Bridget Diakun, data analyst for Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Ukrainian officials, including Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, denied reports that they had suspended the use of a seaborne export corridor due to potential threats from Russian warplanes and sea mines. The corridor, which was previously allowed to flow some food exports despite the war, is being used to revive Ukraine’s seaborne exports.
The suspension could have dealt another blow to Ukraine’s agricultural sector after the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July. As of late October, Ukraine has managed to export nearly 700,000 metric tons of grain through the temporary corridor – although this is only a fraction of the more than 30 million metric tons of food commodities exported under the Black Sea Grain Initiative that collapsed in July.
A total of 62 vessels have already used the new corridor, and 37 vessels carrying over 1.3 million metric tons of goods have now departed the ports of Odesa since September 16. Moscow has threatened to target vessels coming and going to Ukraine’s ports, putting many shipowners on edge.
