Ukraine says ship carrying wheat leaves port for Egypt

A ship carrying wheat has left a Ukrainian port and was heading to Egypt, the second such trip since Russia reimposed its Black Sea blockade in July, a Ukrainian minister said on Friday.

The Palau-flagged Aroyat vessel left Chornomorsk after being loaded with 17,600 tonnes of grain, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media platform X, formerly called Twitter.

Ukraine is testing a new sea route that avoids international waters and follows those controlled by NATO members Bulgaria and Romania following Russia's withdrawal from a UN-backed grain export deal.

The vessel AROYAT (flag 🇵🇼 Palau) left the port Chornomorsk after loading 17,6K Ukrainian wheat for Egypt.

This is the second bulker entered the port of Chornomorsk using temporary corridor for civil shipping. The first was RESILIENT AFRICA with 3K wheat for Asia.

The crew of… pic.twitter.com/JX1n7JPHnS

— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) September 22, 2023

A first ship carrying 3,000 tonnes of wheat left the same port earlier this week. Kubrakov said the destination for the first ship, the Resilient Africa, was Asia.

Kyiv had earlier successfully sent several cargo ships along the new route, without transporting Ukrainian grain.

These voyages became safer after Russia was forced to pull back its warships following a series of successful Ukrainian missile strikes on the Kremlin-controlled peninsula of Crimea, where Moscow's Black Sea fleet is based.

Russia also stepped up attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port infrastructure after abandoning the grain deal.