Three more vessels leave ports of Odesa region through temporary corridor

This is evidenced by the ship traffic monitoring services data, the Center for Transportation Strategies writes.

The Panamax bulk carrier entered the Ukrainian port for loading on October 12. The Ramus and Bahar K vessels were heading for the entrance through a temporary corridor on October 13.

On October 17, the general cargo vessel Briza entered one of the Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.

According to the Center for Transportation Strategies, a total of 33 vessels (including Briza) have used the new route announced by Ukraine to enter the ports of Greater Odesa. For the exit (including 5 vessels that have been in the ports since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022), taking into account today's three vessels, this figure will reach 24. That is, a total of 57 ship passages in both directions were recorded.

Grain corridor operation

On 17 July, Russia announced the termination of the grain deal. In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was necessary to continue using the grain corridor despite Russia's withdrawal from the agreement. 

On August 4, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that Ukraine would send ships with its own grain to wherever it deems necessary and would not ask anyone for permission.

On August 10, the Ukrainian Navy announced a temporary humanitarian corridor for merchant ships sailing to and from Ukrainian ports.

On August 12, Ukraine opened the registration of merchant ships and their owners ready to use temporary routes to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

On August 16, the first vessel left the port of Odesa after Russia announced that it would terminate the grain deal on July 16, 2023.

On August 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The politicians discussed, among other things, the grain deal. Fidan stated that Ankara sees "no alternative" to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the original grain deal that Ukraine and Russia concluded with the mediation of the UN and Turkey.

On August 26, the second vessel left the port of Odesa, and on September 1, two more vessels blocked due to the war left the port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region.

On September 4, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed hope that an agreement on the Black Sea Grain Initiative would be reached quickly.

On September 16, the blocked bulk carrier PUMA (Cayman Islands) left the Odesa seaport. The vessel was loaded with 16,000 tons of metal and 14,000 tons of rapeseed.

On the same day, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that the first civilian ships had confirmed their readiness to use the route to the Chornomorsk port to load almost 20,000 tons of wheat for Africa and Asia.

On September 16, Kubrakov said that after Russia withdrew from the grain deal, the occupiers struck Ukraine's ports 118 times. About a third of the infrastructure was damaged or destroyed.

On September 19, the vessel RESILIENT AFRICA left Odesa's Chornomorsk port via a temporary corridor: it was loaded with 3,000 tons of wheat

On Thursday, September 21, Resilient Africa arrived in Turkey loaded with grain: it was the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to cross the Black Sea using the temporary corridor.

As of early October, all three of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, Odesa, Pivdennyi, and Chornomorsk, resumed accepting grain exports despite Russia's threats.