Ukraine Says Second Ship to Sail From Odesa Reaches Romania
A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier that was the second ship to sail from Odesa since Russia quit the Black Sea safe-transit deal has reached Romanian waters, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The Singapore-operated Primus successfully navigated the temporary Black Sea corridor set up by Ukraine, Zelenskiy said on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
Kyiv created the shipping lane after the grain export deal with Russia, brokered in 2022 by the UN and Turkey as a way for Ukraine to resume its shipments of grains, collapsed in July.
The second vessel has reached Romanian waters after successfully navigating through our temporary Black Sea corridor.
It had been blocked since February 2022, loaded with steel for African consumers.
We defend freedom of navigation with real deeds and the world benefits from…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) Aug. 27, 2023
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said earlier that the Primus had been in port since Feb. 20, 2022, days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, loaded with steel products for African countries.
The 2nd vessel blocked due to the war has left the port of Odesa and is now sailing through a temporary corridor.
The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier PRIMUS of a Singaporean operator has left the port of Odesa and is sailing through the temporary corridor established for civilian…
— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) Aug. 27, 2023
Photograph: The bulk carrier “Primus,” registered in Liberia, sailing towards the Bulgarian Black sea’s port of Varna on Aug. 26, 2023. Photo credit: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
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