Ukraine announced on Sunday that a second cargo ship blocked in Odesa had left the port through a temporary sea corridor set up by Kiev after Moscow blocked a deal allowing Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, AFP, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

Odesa port in UkrainePhoto: Yuliy Zozulya / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images

“The Liberian-flagged PRIMUS ship, owned by an operator from Singapore, has left the port of Odesa and is using a temporary corridor established for civilian vessels,” Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Platform X (formerly Twitter). the ship was transporting metal products destined for African countries.

“The second blocked ship has left Odesa port and is now heading through the temporary corridor,” Kubrakov wrote.

According to a Ukrainian official, the ship had been in Odesa port since February 20, 2022, just before the Russian invasion, and was transporting metal products to Africa.

Russia threatened to attack all the ships as potential military targets after Moscow pulled out of a deal last month that allowed Ukraine to export grain despite the war.

The international community is scrambling to find a way to secure grain transport routes to the rest of the world in time for this fall’s harvest, with Ukraine and Russia the world’s leading exporters.

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