First ship after Russia's grain deal termination leaves Odesa port

This was stated by the Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

“The first ship used the temporary path for merchant ships traveling to or from the ports of Greater Odesa,” he said. 

He mentioned that a big ship named Joseph Schulte under the Hong Kong flag left Odesa port and is moving along the temporary path made for regular ships.

This ship has been in Odesa port since February 23, 2022. It's going towards the Bosphorus with more than 30,000 tons of cargo, like food, on it.

The message says that “the path will mainly be used to move ships that were in Ukrainian ports like Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi at the time of the full-scale invasion.”

What we know about the grain corridor operation

Russia said on July 17 that they won't follow the grain deal anymore. In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine should still use the grain corridor, even though Russia left the agreement.

On July 30, even though the grain deal ended, three foreign cargo ships got past the Russian block in the Black Sea and stopped at a Ukrainian grain port in the Danube Delta.

Oleksiy Danilov, from Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on August 4 that Ukraine will send its ships with its grain wherever it needs to, without asking anyone's permission.

On August 10, Ukraine's Naval Forces announced a special path for merchant ships to go to and from Ukraine's ports. This is mainly for civilian ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports like Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny since Russia's big invasion.

Starting from August 12, Ukraine started taking registration from merchant ships and their owners. These ships are ready to use the temporary paths to reach Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.