Black Sea Grain Initiative: Over 560,000 tonnes moved

The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) has authorised a total of 36 movements of vessels (21 outbound and 15 inbound) during August 1-15 through the maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea to facilitate the safe exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertiliser, including ammonia, from Ukrainian ports, according to the latest update from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) was inaugurated in Istanbul on July 27 following the Black Sea Grain Initiative launched by the Russian Federation, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations.

"During this period, 21 vessels have been authorised to move from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa (11), Chornomorsk (6) and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi (4) under the initiative. Those vessels are carrying a total of 563,317 metric tons (MT) of grain and other foodstuffs."

Shipment details include:
*451,481 MT of corn
*50,300 MT of sunflower meal
*41,622 MT of wheat
*11,000 MT of soya beans
*6,000 MT of sunflower oil; and
*2,914 MT of sunflower seed

The preliminary destinations of Ukrainian food exports so far include Türkiye (26 percent), Iran (22 percent), Republic of Korea (22 percent) and China (8 percent), according to information provided to the JCC. "The food en route to Djibouti is 23,000 MT of wheat purchased by the World Food Programme (WFP) to contribute to the drought response in Ethiopia as part of the WFP's humanitarian operations."

The JCC has conducted 27 inspections through its joint inspection teams on inbound and outbound vessels. All ships inspected so far were cleared, the update added.