The media has been warned to stay away: “Boats will not be allowed to approach the ship. The Coast Guard Administration will take the necessary measures,” the Ministry of Defense warned.
First shipment of Ukrainian grain exported since February 24 Russian invasion expected ‘after midnight’ today to Constantinople, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense.
The cargo ship Razoni, under the flag of Sierra Leone, which departed from Odessa shortly after 09:00 (Greece time) yesterday, Monday, with 26,000 tons of maize and bound for the port of Tripoli in Lebanon, it was initially announced that it was due to arrive in Istanbul early this afternoon.
According to the Turkish ministry, it is now expected to arrive in Istanbul “after midnight”.
The Razoni was at night off the Romanian coast, though disconnected AIS, the automatic identification system which allows its course to be tracked, around 2 am, according to data from the Marine Traffic website.
When asked about this, the Ministry of Defense did not immediately disclose the reasons for this movement of the ship, which allows it to disappear from radars. However, he can thus escape from the media, who await his arrival at the entrance to the Bosphorus.
The truck was sailing yesterday, Monday, at a very low speed (7 knots) in Ukrainian waters due to the possible presence of mines, but then increased its speed, according to Marine Traffic.
It is to be inspected by a team from the Joint Coordination Center that oversees Ukrainian grain exports and ensures strict implementation of the agreement signed on July 22 between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.
According to the procedure described by the authorities, “the ship will not enter the port of Istanbul, the inspections will be carried out at sea, at the point where it will anchor” at the entrance of the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.
The media has been warned to keep their distance: “Boats will not be allowed to approach the ship. The Coast Guard Administration will take the necessary measures,” the Ministry of Defense warned.
RES-EMP
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