UN officials announced the suspension of the movement of bulkers carrying grain along the Black Sea humanitarian corridor as the agency continued discussions with Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine to resume full participation in the programme.
According to Maritime Executive, the announcement came after traffic on the route dropped on November 1, a day after Ukraine set a record for exports and Russia allegedly attacked two civilian tugboats at the port of Ochakiv, Ukraine.
“The Joint Coordination Center can best deliver on its mandate with the full and active participation of all four delegations,” the UN said in response to the Russian Federation suspending its participation in the JCC and warned that it could not guarantee the safety of vessels on the route.
Russian officials accused Ukraine and the west of using the vessels for military purposes.
UN officials denied the claim. Every vessel is inspected at Istanbul before sailing across the Black Sea to and from Ukraine, a move that earlier caused congestion in the corridor.
Martin Griffiths, head of the UN’s humanitarian efforts, told the UN Security Council that there had been no vessels in the corridor at the time of the attacks on Russian forces in occupied Crimea last week. Russia claimed that the drones had come from civilian ships sailing along the corridor.
The UN Secretariat said that the movements and inspections were temporary and an extraordinary measure since the Russian withdrawal from the agreement.
UN coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, who is working in close cooperation and consultation with the Turkish delegation in the JCC, said he was “exerting all efforts to resume full participation at the JCC”. Abdulla tweeted a brief message on Wednesday saying that he expected “loaded ships to sail on Thursday”.
JCC officials earlier reported that as many as 100 vessels were registered and waiting for inspection.
“Ukraine for its part continues to fulfil its obligations and remains the guarantor of food security for the entire civilised world,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure posted on social media. Ukraine has also estimated that export volumes could be 30-40% higher if Russia was not interfering with the inspections in the Bosporus.
The Financial Times also earlier reported that shipping uncertainty in the region was threatening food security.
