The United Nations, Türkiye, Russia and Ukraine issued long-awaited procedures on Monday for merchant ships exporting Ukrainian grain and fertilizer through the Black Sea, according to a document.
The procedures come as ship departures from Ukrainian ports gain pace as part of a deal brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations last month to unblock grain supplies after warnings that the halt in shipments caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighbor was stoking severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.
Since then, a number of grain shipments – mainly onboard vessels that were stuck in Ukraine since Moscow’s launched its military campaign in February – have left in test voyages.
Two more grain-carrying ships left Ukraine's Chernomorsk port on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said, bringing the total to leave the country under the safe passage deal to 12.
Ships exporting Ukraine grain through the Black Sea will be protected by a 10 nautical mile buffer zone, according to the procedures seen by Reuters.
Insurers and shipping companies have been seeking more details on how the corridor will work for empty ships that will sail into three Ukrainian ports involved in the initiative: Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny.
They have also sought assurances that the journey is secure with no threat of mines or attacks to both the ships and their crews. These are typically covered in accepted maritime practices known as standard operating procedures.
"The parties will not undertake any attacks against merchant vessels or other civilian vessels and port facilities engaged in this initiative," the "procedures for merchant vessels" document said.
The deal is overseen by a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul made up of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian military officials and U.N. personnel.
According to the procedures agreed, the JCC will provide information on the planned movement of ships through the maritime humanitarian corridor, which will be shared with Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye’s military to prevent incidents.
Then as the vessel moves through the maritime humanitarian corridor it will be protected by a 10-nautical mile circle buffer zone around it.
"No military vessel, aircraft or UAVs (drones) will close to within 10 nautical miles of a merchant vessel transiting the Maritime Humanitarian Corridor, excluding territorial seas of Ukraine," according to the document.
Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat suppliers, and Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor sent food prices soaring, fueling a global food crisis the World Food Programme (WFP) says has pushed some 47 million people into "acute hunger."
Ukraine hopes to export over 20 million tons of grain in its silos and 40 million from its new harvest, the country’s economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said in July. The government hopes to earn $10 billion for its shattered economy from those volumes but Ustenko said it could take 20 to 24 months to export them if ports are not functioning properly.
One insurance industry source said the procedures "read as a reassuring set of rules. But will all sides stick to it?"
More ships set sail
Of the two vessels that set sail on Tuesday, Ocean Lion left for South Korea, carrying 64,720 tons of corn, it said, while the Rahmi Yağcı was carrying 5,300 tons of sunflower meal to Istanbul.
Meanwhile, one of the ships that left Ukraine arrived in Türkiye on Monday, the first loaded vessel to reach its destination. The Türkiye-flagged Polarnet, laden with 12,000 tons of corn, docked at the port of Derince after setting off from the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk on Friday.
"This sends a message of hope to every family in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia: Ukraine won’t abandon you," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. "If Russia sticks to its obligations, the ‘grain corridor’ will keep maintaining global food security."
Yet Polarnet Captain Ahmet Yücel Alibeyler noted the risks faced by ships trying to cross the Black Sea.
"These were, of course, dangerous areas, corridors that had been cleared, demined," he said.
A total of 12 ships have now been authorized to sail under the grain deal – 10 outbound and two inbound. Some 322,000 metric tons of agricultural products have left Ukrainian ports, the bulk of it corn but also sunflower oil and soya.
Four more ships left Ukraine on Sunday and were expected to undergo inspections off Istanbul on Tuesday.
Under the arrangement, ships leaving Ukraine are checked by officials from the three countries and the U.N. to make sure they carry only grain, fertilizer or food and not any other commodities. Inbound vessels are checked to ensure they are not carrying weapons.
The first cargo ship to leave Ukraine, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which left Odessa on Aug. 1, hit a snag with its cargo, however. It was heading for Lebanon with nearly 26,000 metric tons of corn for chicken feed but ran into a business dispute and will no longer dock there, the Tripoli port chief said.
Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut tweeted Monday that the corn’s buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo since it was delivered so much later than its contract. A new buyer is being sought.