Ukraine blames Russian inspectors for record grain exports

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A WFP-chartered ship loads a shipment of Ukrainian grain (USAID)

Posted on January 26, 2023 at 7:31 p.m. by The Maritime Executive

The pace of agricultural exports from Ukrainian seaports has fallen to its lowest level since the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative last August, according to the country’s agriculture ministry.

During the month of January, an average of 2 to 3 ships per day left the three ports covered by the UN-brokered agreement. In recent days, the average has fallen to 2.5, an all-time low (except in March-July 2022, when Ukrainian ports were closed by a Russian blockade).

According to the ministry, only 2.4 million tons of grain left along the corridor this month, a fraction of the four million tons shipped in September and October.

Ukraine attributes the slow export to Russian obstruction of the inspection process. Russia has limited the number of joint search teams assigned to the task of entry and exit inspections in Istanbul, which sometimes results in a backlog for incoming and outgoing vessels. With Russian participation, the program allowed only one outgoing ship per day, and rarely more than five. When Moscow briefly dropped the initiative in October, the UN, Turkey and Ukraine worked together to inspect and clear around 40 ships a day.

Day-to-day operational issues can also play a role. In an update on Thursday, the Istanbul-based UN Joint Coordination Center for the Grain Initiative said non-compliance by crews was slowing down inspections and had even “led to administrative action for some vessels”. . Without citing specific infractions, he reminded ship operators of safety rules regarding when bunkering, crew changes, refueling and hull cleaning are allowed.

The initiative may have reopened Ukraine’s maritime export route, but there is still a long way to go to restore normalcy to maritime transport in the Black Sea. Two key Ukrainian ports, Mykolaiv and Kherson, are still closed to the sea. In addition, bulk carriers carrying grain cargoes are currently the only vessels allowed on the route to and from Ukrainian ports, although the Ukrainian government called for a full resumption of maritime trade.

The program can, however, celebrate some success: 18 million tonnes of grain have been exported through the corridor since its launch, transporting food to 43 countries and helping to control commodity prices. The majority of wheat exports went to developing countries and nearly half to low-income countries, according to the UN.

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