A cargo ship from Ukraine with more than 3,000 tons of corn on board ran aground in Istanbul on Thursday, halting movement in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, the first such incident since an export deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations was struck in July.
The Istanbul governor's office and a shipping company said the 173-meter-long "Lady Zahma" ran aground undamaged after the rudder broke down around 6 p.m. GMT.
The office added that no one was hurt and that the coast guard was present.
A witness and Refinitiv data indicated that the bow of the ship was about 150 meters offshore in the busy Bebek district.
Ukraine's grain exports declined after the Russian war on Ukraine began on February 24 and closed its ports on the Black Sea, which led to a rise in global food prices and raised fears of a shortage crisis in Africa and the Middle East.
İstanbul Boğazı'nda dümeni kilitlenen bir tanker, Bebek sahiline 100 meter kala durabildi.
Görüntüler sadece muhalif.
de!
pic.twitter.com/WNJYx8DpU6
— Muhalif (@muhalifcomtr) September 1, 2022
Three ports were opened under the agreement signed by Moscow and Kiev on July 22, mediated by the United Nations and Ankara.
The Joint Coordination Center, which is run by officials from the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, told Reuters that the ship "ran aground while passing through the strait and there is an emergency operation that includes boarding" carried out by the Turkish authorities.
Earlier this week, the Joint Coordination Center said Lady Zahma was allowed to leave the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk for Ravenna, Italy, with 3,000 tons of maize on board.
Turkey's Tribeca Shipping Company said it was carrying 30,274 tonnes of corn.
Turkish accounts and media outlets broadcast videos of the stranded ship in the Bosphorus Strait, which disrupted traffic.
The video footage showed the ship with rescue boats pushed by the Turkish Directorate General of Coastal Safety to the place of the ship's stranding.
Ukrayna'dan gelen “Lady Zehma” kargo gemisi, dümen arızası nedeniyle İstanbul Boğazı'nda karaya oturdu.
▪️Geminin tahıl anlaşması kapsamında 3 bin ton mısır taşıdığı belirtiliyor.
▪️Boğazda gemi trafiği askıya alındı ve kurtarma römorkörleri gönderildi.pic.twitter.com/IM9ywmxn2F
— EHA MEDYA (@eha_medya) September 1, 2022
As of Wednesday, about 1.55 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs had been exported from Ukraine under the agreement, the coordination center said, with 139 incoming and outgoing flights allowed.
Such incidents are rare in the picturesque Bosphorus Strait, which divides Turkey's largest city and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and beyond to the Mediterranean.
According to the Turkish authorities, an average of more than 40,000 ships pass through the Bosphorus annually.