Over the past few weeks, ten ships have completed voyages to major Ukrainian Black Sea ports without incident, ignoring Russian threats to attack vessels in the area, the newspaper writes Bloomberg.
The passage of the ships shows that Ukraine's bold bid to create its own trade route after the collapse of the safe corridor agreed with Russia paid off. So far, the success is largely symbolic, as the vessel still requires careful maneuvering near the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania as the vessels head toward Ukraine.
Russia has previously threatened to treat any ships sailing to Ukraine as potentially carrying weapons, and in August opened fire on one to force it to stop for inspections. In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled the "Grain Agreement" brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, which allowed safe passage of ships exporting Ukrainian grain and other food products from three key Black Sea ports.
As of today, two ships arrived in Odesa on Sunday, two more in Chornomorsk, and one more arrived in Yuzhnoye on the same day. This is in addition to five more vessels that have already passed through the corridor, loaded cargo and left ports on September 16, so far the vessels have reached all three deep sea ports using the temporary Ukrainian corridor.
Separately, five ships that have been stuck in Ukraine since the beginning of the war used the same route to get out.
According to the Safe Corridor Agreement, all vessels bound for Ukraine had to pass inspection in Istanbul, and included only agricultural goods. Although the inspections significantly slowed down the trade, most ship owners were willing to participate in the grain trade, as international support meant that the ship was more secure.
Before the invasion, Ukraine exported most of its grain from its deep-water ports on the Black Sea coast, which also supplied iron ore and fertilizers. Kyiv diverted cargo by river, road and rail, but Russia persistently bombards the ports with drones.
The United Nations continues to work with Moscow to restore the Safe Corridor Agreement.
"The risks are higher when there is no agreement," said Rebecca Greenspan, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. "The only way to reduce the risks is to bring all parties back to the agreement. That is why we continue our efforts to do so."
Insurance costs for vessels operating in such a risky area are also an issue. But in a sign that the new strategy is gaining momentum, insurance broker Miller said it was offering "full military risk insurance" for Ukrainian Black Sea grain vessels.
This does not necessarily make travel any less safe for crew members. But it can help simplify exports for Ukraine's agricultural sector, which, according to the US Department of Agriculture, employed one in ten Ukrainians at the beginning of last year. It is also an important contributor to the global food supply.
"When the Russians pulled out of the grain agreement, they thought they could create even more problems for Ukraine," said Mykola Beleskov, a researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv. He expects that "the number of ships heading to Ukrainian ports will increase."
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