A second ship carrying grain since Russia reimposed its Black Sea blockade in July has left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chernomorsk after loading grain and was heading to Egypt, an industry source said on Friday.
The Palau-flagged Aroyat vessel left Chernomorsk after being loaded with 17,600 tonnes of grain, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Ukraine is testing a new sea route that avoids international waters and follows those controlled by NATO members Bulgaria and Romania following Russia's withdrawal from a U.N.-backed grain export deal.
The first ship carrying 3,000 tonnes of wheat left the same port earlier this week. Kubrakov said the destination for the first ship, the Resilient Africa, was Asia.
The Palau-flagged Resilient Africa reached Istanbul on Thursday, marine traffic monitors said.
Ukraine last month announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release ships trapped in its ports since Russia invaded the country in February 2022 and to circumvent the collapsed deal.
Moscow has launched frequent drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian grain export infrastructure.
Odesa's three seaports, including Chernomorsk, shipped tens of millions of tons of grain during Russia's invasion under the U.N.-brokered deal.
Five of several vessels that had been stuck in Odesa have so far left the port, using the temporary corridor which hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.
The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Türkiye in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's top grain exporters.
