Turkey-Ukraine Grain Export/Inspection

Shotlist

Istanbul, Turkey – Aug 3, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of boats carrying inspectors from Joint Coordination Center approaching cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain

Istanbul, Turkey – Aug 3, 2022 (Courtesy of Turkish Defense Ministry – No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of inspectors boarding cargo ship
3. Various of inspectors checking cargo
4. Various of inspectors looking through documents, checking facilities, passports

Istanbul, Turkey – Aug 3, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain moving

Storyline

The first grain-laden ship leaving Ukraine passed through Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday and continued to its destination after an inspection team gave the green light.

Two boats carrying the inspectors, accompanied by two escort vessels from the Turkish Coast Guard, approached the ship anchored on the northwestern entrance of the Bosphorus Strait.

A total of 20 representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations under the umbrella of recently established Joint Coordination Center (JCC) boarded the ship at around 10:30 local time (0730 GMT) to conduct examinations to ensure the ship transported no cargo unaccounted for.

The whole inspection process took nearly three hours.

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, which left the Odesa port in Ukraine early on Monday with 26,527 tons of corn for Lebanon, reached the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait on Tuesday evening.

It is the first successful large-volume grain shipment in almost half a year from Ukraine to international markets via the Black Sea.

After the inspection, the cargo ship exited the Bosphorus Strait at around 16:00 local time (1300 GMT). It took nearly two hours to pass through the 31-km long strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea.

The ship is expected to arrive at its destination in Lebanon by Saturday.

Russia and Ukraine signed the deal on July 22 with Turkey and the United Nations, aiming to resume food and fertilizer exports from three Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, namely Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi.

Last week, the JCC was inaugurated in Istanbul with representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations, and Turkey to monitor the implementation of the grain shipment process.

According to Turkish state-run Anadolu agency, 20 million tonnes of grain are still in Ukraine, waiting to be shipped.