- Besides the two ships reported by TASS as leaving Mariupol, they cited four other foreign ships that remain in the port.
- They included vessels registered in the Dominican Republic, Liberia, Panama, and Jamaica.
- There is no indication of the status of these ships.
After Ankara claimed to have held a round of “productive” grain discussions with Moscow, a Turkish vessel made history on Wednesday by becoming the first foreign vessel to depart the Russian-occupied portion of the shattered city of Mariupol. In our live blog, you may read about the day’s happenings as they happened as reported by France24.
Port reopened
Russia’s state-controlled TASS News Agency announced the departure of what it calls the first foreign ship to depart Mariupol as evidence of Russia’s efforts to reopen the port after the extended siege on the city.
The 8,975 DWT general cargo ship’s AIS data shows that it is now anchored at the southern Russian port after having been one of six foreign-flagged ships that TASS acknowledged had been stuck in Mariupol since the invasion in February.
“The parties discussed the safe exit of Turkish merchant ships and export of grain from Ukrainian ports, as well as the approaches to safe navigation in the Black Sea,” the Russians reported.
CNN is citing a Ukraine government report that said an estimated 400,000 tons of grain has been stolen.
The U.S. State Department issued an alert in May citing vessels it believed were smuggling stolen Ukrainian commodities.
Lloyd contends that many of the vessels are going dark to hide their actions.
Resumes operations
The efforts to resume port operations at Mariupol were also reported by TASS at the end of May. After the mines were lifted from the harbour, they stated that the first shipment of 2,700 tonnes of Ukrainian steel will be transported around 100 miles from Mariupol to the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don.
They listed four other foreign ships that are still at the port in addition to the two ships that TASS claimed were leaving Mariupol. They included ships with Dominican Republic, Liberia, Panama, and Jamaican registrations. The whereabouts of these ships are unknown.
Did you subscribe to our newsletter?
It’s free! Click here to subscribe!
Source: France24
