The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey Aug. 3, 2022. (Credit: Mehmet Emin Caliskan/Reuters)
BEIRUT — The first shipment of over 26,000 tons of Ukrainian food under a Black Sea export deal was cleared to proceed on Wednesday, towards its final destination in Lebanon, according to the United Nations.
Here’s what we know:
• Georges Berbari, director-general of the General Directorate of Cereals and Sugarbeets in the Ministry of Economy and Trade, told L’Orient Today Tuesday that the Ukrainian ship coming to Lebanon is carrying corn and barley as animal feed.
• The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, is the first ship to leave Ukraine's Odessa port since Russia's invasion, and will carry more than 26,000 tons of corn and undergo an inspection in Istanbul, which it arrived to on Tuesday, before continuing to Lebanon's Tripoli port, a UN-led monitoring center said on Monday.
• The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain-and-fertilizer export agreement between Russia and Ukraine in June.