The United Nations expects a "big uptick" in applications to pick up grain cargoes at Ukrainian ports and export desperately needed supplies to world markets through the Black Sea, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The statement comes after Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the U.N. agreed on the transit procedures this Monday for a landmark deal struck in July to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain and fertilizer exports. The procedures include a 10 nautical mile (18.5 nautical kilometers) protection zone for ships.

Frederick Kenney, an interim U.N. Coordinator at the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, which oversees the grain agreement, said ship owners have shown "tremendous interest" in exporting grain from Ukraine – one of the world’s key breadbaskets – under the deal aimed at helping ease the global food crisis sparked by Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

The center is receiving "literally dozens and dozens of phone calls every day and emails asking when can we get ready to go," said Kenney, director of legal and external affairs at the International Maritime Organization and a retired U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral and judge advocate who is leading the U.N.’s efforts at the center to get grain shipped from three Ukrainian ports, namely

He said detailed procedures on shipping and inspections were sent out to the industry on Monday and their dissemination "is also going to drive a surge in requests, but it is early days."

"We’re expecting to see a big uptick in applications for transit," Kenney told a virtual news conference from Istanbul.

‘Tremendous interest’

He said ship owners had shown "tremendous interest" and that there were a number of empty grain vessels anchored in Türkiye waiting for sales to be arranged so they could travel to Ukraine to collect cargo.

"Indeed, we’re aware that there are a number of empty grain vessels sitting at anchorage in Turkish anchorage areas waiting to arrange the contracts. And once they have their deals arranged, they’ll be transiting northbound."

"The goal of getting between 2-5 (million) metric tons is achievable," he noted, referring to monthly exports.

Ukraine signed an agreement with Türkiye and the U.N. on July 22, clearing the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tons of corn and other grain stuck at ports and in silos since the Russian invasion and to make room for the export of the upcoming harvest. A separate memorandum between Russia and the U.N. signed the same day is aimed at clearing roadblocks to its food and fertilizer shipments to world markets.

The JCC, which includes experts from Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the U.N., has so far authorized the departure of 12 vessels carrying over 370,000 metric tons of grain, mainly corn, and other foodstuffs and the arrival of four vessels to pick up new cargo, Kenney said.

He said its inspectors on Wednesday inspected three outbound ships and two inbound vessels – the most since the signing – for non-food items and unauthorized personnel.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry published video footage Wednesday showing the Osprey S ship arriving at the port of Chornomorsk to be loaded with 30,000 metric tons of grain. It was the second arriving at the port under the deal.

The Ocean Lion, the biggest ship to depart Ukraine so far, was at anchor in the Sea of Marmara, near the southern end of Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait, after leaving Ukraine on Tuesday.

Two other ships, the Sacura and the Mustafa Necati, were anchored close by, while the Rahmi Yağcı was anchored on the northern end of the Bosporus.

The Razoni, the first ship to leave Ukraine, was initially headed to Lebanon but the Ukrainian Embassy there said the buyer refused delivery due to a delay of five months.

It was anchored off Türkiye’s southern coast on Thursday morning, according to Refinitiv ship tracker data.

‘Any ship going out helps’

Kenney said nothing unauthorized has been found in inspections so far, no floating mines have been encountered in the Black Sea shipping corridor, and the technical expertise of the four parties working at the center is "great" and really diverse.

"We’re going to be doing a comprehensive review of procedures early next week to see what needs to be tweaked and improved," Kenney said.

Asked about relations among the parties, since Russia and Ukraine are at war, he said, "I’ve been extremely impressed with the level of cooperation and coordination that has been displayed."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres first raised the critical need to restart the supply of Ukraine’s agricultural production and Russia’s grain and fertilizer to world markets in late April during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. He then proposed a deal, pointing to the fear that the war could worsen hunger for up to 181 million people, especially in poorer developing countries.

Kenney said the current priority was to free up pier space at the three ports covered by the deal – Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny – so new ships could come in and load cargo. There have been no wheat shipments yet, with departing vessels so far carrying corn, soybeans and sunflower oil and meal.

The three ports were essentially frozen on Feb. 24, Kenney said. "There was a different harvest coming in, it was primarily corn. The silos are full of corn," he said.

Asked about the initial shipments of Ukrainian corn going mainly to countries not in desperate need of food, Kenney said it’s crucial to get ships stuck in Ukrainian ports since late February moving out so ships can be brought in to load cargoes "that will be destined for ports that will contribute to reducing world food insecurity."

"But really, any ship that goes out is going to help the situation," he said.