Last vessel under Grain Initiative leaves Ukraine – data from JCC
DSM Capella vessel under the flag of Barbados with 30,000 tonnes of corn left the port of Chornomorsk bound for Turkey on Wednesday and, according to the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), became the last vessel that had previously passed its inspection to enter Ukraine.
According to the information on the JCC website, the last inbound vessel inspection was made on May 6 this year: Deniz M vessel under the flag of Panama passed it, which on May 14 left with 30,000 tonnes of wheat bound for Sudan.
The JCC said that eight vessels that left Ukrainian ports on May 10-17 have not yet passed the inspection.
A total of 917 vessels have been inspected at the entrance during the period of the Grain Initiative since the beginning of August 2022, while 945 at the exit (the difference is explained by the fact that some of the vessels have been standing with agricultural products in ports since the beginning of the war).
In May, only 11 inbound vessels were inspected, compared to 54 in April and 89 in March. Record inbound inspection rates were achieved in September and October with 186 and 136 vessels respectively.
As for outbound inspections, there have been 48 outbound inspections since the beginning of May, compared to 65 in April and 85 in March. The record rate of outbound inspections was recorded in October - 194, while in September and November-December last year there were from 125 to 105.
As a result, exports in May fell to 1.07 million tonnes from 2.79 million tonnes in April and 3.93 million tonnes in March. The record level was seen in October - 4.24 million tonnes, and in total it reached 30.28 million tonnes.
About 60 vessels are awaiting inspection.
As reported, the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, with the participation of the UN, Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia. Its essence is to create a corridor for the grain export from three Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The initiative was concluded for 120 days and it was extended twice, the last time on March 18. However, if Ukraine claims that it has been extended for 120 days, then Russia claims that only 60 – until May 18, and insists on unblocking the operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline and lifting all sanctions on the trade in Russian agricultural products and fertilizers.
