From Reuters, July 22:
- Ukraine's Black Sea ports lose a third of grain export capacity, traders and analysts say
- Farm minister says alternative routes are underutilised
- Foreign minister requests urgent UN Security Council meeting
Shipowners have temporarily suspended vessel arrivals at Ukraine's Black Sea ports for agricultural exports after a recent surge in Russian attacks on ports and merchant shipping, the country's agriculture minister said.
Ukraine has lost about a third of its capacity to export grain via the Black Sea ports due to Russian missile and drone attacks, traders and analysts have said."As of today, the entry of ships has been suspended. This is a decision taken by the shipowners. Ukraine, as a state, has not imposed any restrictions," Interfax-Ukraine cited Taras Vysotskyi as saying on Wednesday.Vysotskyi added that alternative routes and infrastructure were currently underutilised, Interfax-Ukraine said.Ukraine has been exporting much of its grain through its Black Sea shipping corridor since 2023, following Russia's withdrawal from a deal that had guaranteed safe passage for agricultural exports after its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.But Russian attacks on Ukraine's deepwater ports and international vessels have intensified in recent weeks. Brokers have said shipowners are refusing to enter Ukrainian ports because of sharply increased war-risk concerns, while traders have paused purchases.A Russian missile strike on a ship carrying corn near Odesa on Sunday killed nine crew members from India and Syria and a Ukrainian maritime pilot, Ukrainian authorities said....
....MUCH MORE