In its initial phase at least, the corridor appears to involve vessels such as container ships that have been stranded in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion and were not covered by the agreement that opened the ports to grain shipments last year.
Ukraine today announced a “humanitarian corridor” to allow dozens of merchant ships, stranded in its ports since the war broke out, to sail to the Black Sea, where sea routes have been under scrutiny since Russia withdrew from the grain export agreement.
In its initial phase at least, the corridor appears to involve vessels such as container ships that have been stranded in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion and were not covered by the agreement that opened the ports to grain shipments last year.
But it could be a major test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen sea lanes at a time when Russia is trying to re-impose its de facto blockade, having pulled out of the grain deal last month.
“Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor became operational,” Oleh Chalyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, told Reuters by telephone.
“The corridor will be transparent, we will install cameras on the ships and there will be an announcement showing that it is a purely humanitarian mission and has no military purposes,” he said.
The Ukrainian Navy said in a statement that the routes had already been proposed by Ukraine directly to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The routes will be “mainly used for civilian vessels located in the Ukrainian ports of Khornomorsk, Odessa and Pivdeni from the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.”
“Vessels, whose owners/masters will officially confirm that they are ready to sail in these conditions, will be allowed to pass through these routes,” the statement said.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Navy stated that there continues to be a risk of mines in the Black Sea and a military threat from Russia.
A German grain trader told Reuters: “People want more details on the Ukrainian temporary sea channel announced today as it cannot work unless Russia gives concrete commitments not to attack ships.”
Chalik gave no indication of when this corridor was agreed with Russia. Last month, Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea grain transit agreement that had allowed Ukraine to safely export its agricultural products, saying a parallel deal aimed at helping facilitate Russian grain exports was not being implemented. and fertilizers.
Source :Skai
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