Buyer is said to have jumped off: grain freighter “Razoni” anchors unexpectedly

Buyer is said to have dropped out
Grain freighter “Razoni” anchors unexpectedly

The 26,000 tons of corn from the Ukraine were actually supposed to enter the port of Tripoli on the freighter “Razoni”. But shortly before arrival, the ship changes course, the buyer is said to have jumped off because of the long wait. The ship is now anchored in Mersin, Turkey – destination unknown.

The cargo ship “Razoni” loaded with Ukrainian grain unexpectedly anchored in front of the Turkish port of Mersin. This was shown by the ship tracking services vesselfinder.com and marinetraffic.com. The 26,000 tons of corn were actually supposed to be transported to the Lebanese port of Tripoli and from there to neighboring Syria. The ship then changed course about a day before arrival.

The “Razoni” had left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa a week ago – as the first ship after the end of a grain blockade by Russia. After an inspection in Istanbul, she first headed for Lebanon, but then unexpectedly declared “Order” as the new destination, i.e. an unspecified place from which a dealer then orders the loaded goods.

The “Razoni” has been anchored near the Turkish coast near Iskenderun since Saturday – and according to Marinetraffic then set off towards the port of Mersin on Tuesday night. The port operator could not immediately be reached for comment. The Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon said the previous evening, citing the forwarders, that the buyer had left the contract, citing a five-month waiting period. One is looking for a new recipient in Lebanon or elsewhere.

The fact that the “Razoni” had changed its destination shortly before arrival was “a bit strange,” said a spokesman for Marinetraffic. Lebanese officials had previously said traders may have wanted to bring part of the expected shipment of corn from Lebanon to neighboring Syria. Exporting food to Syria is legal, but is made more difficult by Western financial sanctions against the Syrian government. Hezbollah, for example, smuggles food and medicine into Syria on a large scale and also controls most illegal border crossings.

Observers in Lebanon were also taken aback by the large shipment of corn that was rumored to be ground and fed to animals. In its severe economic and food crisis, Lebanon needs wheat, not corn, said Hani Bushali, president of the Lebanese Food Import Consortium. It also seemed possible that the planned transport to Syria was canceled – because of the great media attention for the “Razoni”.

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