More and More Grain Ships Sailing from Black Sea Ports, as Putin and Erdogan Make Agreements

Aug. 7, 2022 (EIRNS)—TASS reported today that the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that four more ships have left Ukrainian ports, making a total of eight ships in the week. The ship Mustafa Necati with 6,000 tons of sunflower oil set sail for Italy; the dry cargo ship Star Helena with 45,000 tons of sunflower seeds is bound for China; Glory is carrying 66,000 tons of corn to Istanbul; and the bulk carrier Riva Wind is carrying 44,000 tons of corn to Iskenderun in Turkey, the report said.

Three others arrived at Istanbul yesterday. The first ship, the Panama-flagged Navi-Star, which departed from Ukraine’s port of Odessa on Aug. 5, is carrying 33,000 tons of corn. It was followed by the Malta-flagged ship Rojen, which departed from Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port with 13,000 tons of grain for the U.K., also anchored off the north of Istanbul. Later in the evening, the Turkish-flagged vessel Polarnet also arrived off Istanbul with 12,000 tons of corn.

After meeting with Putin in Sochi on Aug. 5, Erdogan indicated that efforts to export grain via the Black Sea will expand to include Russian grain exports. He told reporters,

“The Razoni dry cargo ship passing through Istanbul was actually a first. Behind it, there are about 20 ships waiting at the ports. Above all, Russia is saying right now: ‘We have the preparation, we have the strength to leave the ports. When will you mediate on this?’ Our relevant ministries, primarily our Ministry of Commerce, are working quickly on this issue.” Erdogan said that the leaders in Sochi emphasized “the full implementation of the Istanbul agreement, including the unimpeded export of Russia’s grain, fertilizer and raw materials for their production.”

In addition, on Aug. 5 TASS cited Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak that under the new agreement, Turkey has agreed to pay Russia partially in rubles for its natural gas imports, which total about 26 billion cubic meters annually. The agreements “otherwise would increase cooperation in the transportation, agriculture, finance, and construction industries.”