the cargo ship “Razoni” docked in a port in Syria, a close ally of Moscow

Nothing, or almost nothing, will have gone as planned for the first ship exporting Ukrainian grain since the beginning of the war. While the signal from Razoni had been lost on August 12, satellite images showed that it had docked on Monday August 15 at the port of Tartous, in Syria, a close ally of Moscow.

Planet Labs PBC images analyzed by the FinancialTimes and Associated Press showed the Razoni, flying the flag of Sierra Leone, arrive in the Syrian port on Monday morning. The ship was right next to the grain silos, essential to the country’s wheat supply.

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Initial delivery canceled

the Razoni is the first boat to have left Ukraine under the agreement signed in July by Moscow and kyiv – validated by the United Nations and Turkey – and allowing the resumption of the export of Ukrainian cereals with a view to curbing the global food crisis.

He had left the port of Odessa on 1er August with 26,000 tons of corn on board and should have docked in the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, a few days later. The delivery, however, was canceled shortly before it arrived. The Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon explained that the delivery time of five months had “induced the buyer and the sender to agree on the cancellation of the order”.

The ship spent several days at sea before a new buyer for its cargo emerged in Turkey, according to the Middle East Eye news site. the International mail specifies, however, that the said purchaser only purchased 5% of the goods of the Razonibefore it makes its way to Syria, signal extinguished.

No official reaction from kyiv

kyiv, which had hailed the ship’s initial departure from the port of Odessa as a sign that Ukraine could ship its grain safely, did not react.

The Joint Coordination Center (JCC), responsible for controlling Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, under the agreements, said on Tuesday that“after the inspection of ships departing from Istanbul, the CCC ceases to monitor them”.

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“Inspected vessels then proceed to their final destinations, whatever they may be”says the center.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut referred to an earlier statement that the shipment of Razoni was no longer under the responsibility of kyiv: “Our task has been to reopen the seaports for grain freight and that has been done. »

The World with AFP

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