The loading is a test of Kyiv’s ability to unblock its seaports for grain export.
The Resilient Africa bulk carrier left the port of Chornomorsk with 3,000 metric tonnes of wheat today.
“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. The bulk carriers Resilient Africa and Aroyat arrived in Ukraine on Saturday and were due to depart after loading almost 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat for Africa and Asia.
The loading is a test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen shipping lanes at a time when Russia is trying to re-impose its de facto blockade.Odesa’s three seaports, including Chornomorsk, shipped tens of millions of tonnes of grain during Russia’s invasion under a United Nations-brokered deal which collapsed when Moscow withdrew.