The first freighter with Ukrainian wheat docks in Syria, a Russian allied country

The global markets, with the rising food pricesThey needed grain from the Ukraine, one of the world’s top producers. Ukrainian food had been blocked since the Russian invasion in February this year.

The reason was the first of many – and the most important, since it had to open a dangerous path, full of mines and under an agreement between Moscow and kyiv that was presumed fragile -, and its final destination was the Lebanon, a country plunged into a serious economic crisis. After two weeks wandering the Eastern Mediterraneanthe reason It has arrived this Tuesday at port. She has not landed, however, in Lebanon; she has done it in Syria.

“The freighter stopped its transmission signal on August 12 east of Cyprus, and was seen heading to port that same morning. So, he stopped at anchor for a couple of days before docking at tartus, [en Siria]”, has explained Samir Madanifounder of freighter research company Tanker Trackers.

wheat theft

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to many experts, Russia has been systematically stealing wheat and grain from the Ukrainian ports it conquered. This cereal was illegally exported, and sent, above all, to the Syria of Bashar al-AssadRussia’s great ally in the area.

The procedure is always similar: freighters announce that they are going to a certain port when, on the high seas, they close their transistors and headed towards Syria. The case of reasonhowever, has been a little different.

After the freighter sailed from Odessa on August 1, the buyer of the grain rejected the product, claiming “quality doubts”. The reason was already in the Mediterranean, and docked at the port of mersinin Turkey, on August 11, where he delivered part of his cargo. The next day she set sail again, this time with the signal closed and in the direction of Syria, the Russian ally.

“We are not responsible of a ship and its cargo once it has left Ukraine, even more so if said freighter has left a foreign port”, said this weekend the Ukrainian Ministry of Transport it’s a statement.

A functional agreement

Till the date, 17 boats have left Ukrainian ports after signing in July in istanbul of the agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and United Nations for the export of Ukrainian wheat and cereals. All these ships are inspected in istanbulbefore arriving in Ukraine or after leaving it.

With these inspections, Moscow wants to make sure that kyiv does not use these ships for import weapons; kyiv, for its part, makes sure that its rivals will not use the opening of the ports Ukrainians to attack them, something that already happened — with a bombardment — one day after the pact was signed, on July 23.

Related news

This Tuesday, the day the reason arrived in Syria, the first freighter paid for by the World Food Program (WFP)bound for horn of africa.

“It takes much more than cargo ships with Ukrainian grain to stop the hunger in the worldbut with Ukrainian wheat back on global markets we have a chance to stop this spiral that the global food crisis”, said this Tuesday the executive director of the WFP, David Beesley.