Turkey/Ukraine-Grain Ship

Shotlist

Odesa, Ukraine – Aug 1, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Ukraine’s first ship carrying grains for export since Feb 26, 2022

Turkey – Aug 1, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
2. Unidentified ship sailing on sea

Istanbul, Turkey – July 13, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of ships sailing at sea

FILE: U.N. Headquarters, New York City – Date Unknown (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of U.N. headquarters, U.N. flag

UN Headquarters, New York City – Aug 1, 2022 (UNTV – For news purpose only/No archive/Not for other production use)
5. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations

FILE: Moscow, Russia – Date Unknown (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
6. Russian national flag

FILE: Moscow, Russia – March 30, 2022 (CGTN – No access Chinese mainland)
7. Saint Basil’s Cathedral
8. Dormition Cathedral in Kremlin

FILE: Brussels, Belgium – March 8, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
9. Berlaymont building, EU flags

FILE: Brussels, Belgium – May 16, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of headquarters of European Commission, flags of European Union

Odesa, Ukraine – July 23, 2022 (CGTN – No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of harvester working
12. Various of grains of wheat on harvester
13. Wheat
14. Harvester working

Storyline

The first cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain for export since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict would anchor off Istanbul in the early hours of Wednesday, Aug. 3, for a joint inspection as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced Monday.

The ministry said in a written message that the vessel will not enter any port and the inspections will be carried out at the anchorage point on the sea.

A team of the Joint Coordination Center composed of representatives from Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey will board the ship for inspection at 08:00 local time (0500 GMT) on Wednesday.

The Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni left Ukraine’s Odesa port on Monday morning for Tripoli in Lebanon. Carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn, Razoni will pass through the Bosphorus Strait and sail to the Mediterranean.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Monday that 16 more ships are waiting for their turns at the Odesa port.

To ensure safety of the corridor, the number of the vessels setting off from the port of the Ukraine will be no more than three each day in the coming two weeks or so, according to Kubrakov.

Once the safety is fully confirmed, the monthly capacity of the Ukraine grain export will reach three million tonnes in the next four to six months, said the minister.

According to data released by the agricultural authorities of Ukraine, over 20 billion tonnes of grain harvested last year are awaiting at Ukraine ports for shipment.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said the vessel sailing from the Ukraine port of Odesa is the “first of many commercial ships bringing relief and stability to global food markets”.

The ship’s departure is the first concrete result of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. “Today’s departure is an enormous collective achievement by the Joint Coordination Center, set up last week in Istanbul under U.N. auspices, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia and Turkey,” Guterres said.

He once against called for an early ceasefire and end the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.

Also on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the departure of the grain-laden ship a positive development, noting that Russia hopes the whole deal signed can be implemented.

European Union Spokesman Peter Stano on Monday said the alliance welcomes the departure of the vessel, noting it is “a first step towards mitigating the global food crisis.”

He expressed the wish that the relevant agreement could be carried out so food can be delivered to more places across the world in need.