A ship carrying the first Ukrainian grain shipment approaches Syria
Two sources in the shipping sector said that the first ship that left Ukraine, under an agreement to resume the export of grain from the country two weeks ago, is approaching the Syrian port of Tartus today, Sunday, after it sailed with its transponder switched off.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship, the Razzoni, sailed from the Ukrainian port of Odessa on August 1, under the agreement between Russia and Ukraine brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, but its location remained unknown in recent days due to the failure of its transceiver.
The shipment, 26,000 tons of maize, was initially destined for Lebanon, which is suffering from a severe economic crisis that has led to food insecurity for about half of its population.
But the original buyer refused to take delivery of the shipment due to quality concerns, and the ship sailed to Turkey and docked in Mersin on August 11.
The ship shut off its transponder when it set sail again the next day.
Two sources in the shipping sector, one of them in Tartus, confirmed to Reuters on Sunday that the ship was approaching the port in northwestern Syria.
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