IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has welcomed the departure from Odesa of the first commercial ship to leave the port under the United Nations supported Black Sea Grain Initiative to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor for the safe passage of ships from Ukraine. 

Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni is the first commercial ship to leave Ukraine’s port of Odesa since 26 February 2022. The ship left on 1 August is bound for the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tonnes of corn.

At the time of writing a port call was expected to be made in Istanbul for inspection of vessel and cargo by relevant parties: UN, IMO, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine. 

Said the IMO Secretary General: ‘I am pleased to see the first departure. The immense work by the UN and the relevant parties has now come to fruition. IMO will continue to do everything to support safe and secure shipping and ensure the safety of seafarers.’ 

Maritime Security and Safety in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov

A background note by IMO on the Black Sea Grain Initiative is to be found here:

https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/MaritimeSecurityandSafetyintheBlackSeaandSeaofAzov.aspx

Illustration per: www.imo.org

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