Minister: First vessel sails through temporary Black Sea corridor

The first civilian vessel sailed from Odesa through the temporary Black Sea corridor, set up primarily to evacuate vessels docked in Ukraine's port since the start of the full-scale invasion, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov announced on Aug. 16.

The container ship Joseph Schulte sailing under the Hong Kong flag left Odesa's port, where it has been docked since Feb. 23, 2022. It is currently heading toward the Bosphorus with more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo onboard, including food, Kubrakov added.

The Ukrainian Naval Forces announced the new temporary corridor on Aug. 10. The route is primarily meant to allow passage for ships that have been docked in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny since the start of the full-scale invasion.

The Navy nevertheless warned that the military threat posed by Russian forces toward merchant vessels persists.

Ukraine proposed this route to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has appealed to Russia to cease all threats and adhere to international conventions.

Previously, the last merchant ship left Odesa's port on July 16 as Russia unilaterally terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative the day later. The deal, brokered in July 2022 by Turkey and the U.N., allowed Ukraine to export its grain even amid the ongoing full-scale invasion.

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The Kyiv IndependentLiliane Bivings