The first officially authorized Ukrainian grain shipment since the Russian invasion on February 24 is expected “after midnight” in Istanbul and its inspection will take place on Wednesday morning, Turkish officials said.
The Razoni, flying the flag of Sierra Leone, left Odessa shortly after 0900 (0600 GMT) on Monday with 26,000 tonnes of maize bound for the Lebanese port of Tripoli.
It was originally announced Tuesday at the start of the afternoon.
But Wednesday morning Turkish Admiral Özcan Altunbulak, head of the Joint Coordination Center (CCC) which oversees operations, said the cargo was expected “after midnight”, i.e. from 9:00 p.m. GMT, in Istanbul.
“Due to the sea state, the boat is not expected until after midnight,” he told reporters.
“He will anchor offshore, in a place reserved for him. After the necessary procedures, an inspection will be conducted [mercredi matin] by a delegation made up of Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and UN representatives, then the Razoni will continue on its way”, declared the Turkish admiral.
“We are aware that we have a great responsibility and that we are undertaking a historic mission,” he stressed.
The Razoni was on Tuesday morning at two-thirds of its crossing, off the Bulgarian coast, according to data from the Marine Traffic site and was progressing at the relatively high speed of 11.7 nautical knots.
During the night, the Razoni disconnected its AIS, an automatic identification system that tracks its trajectory, for more than eight hours, but it reconnected at the end of the morning.
Asked, the Ministry of Defense did not give the reasons for this maneuver which allows it to disappear from the radar.
The freighter initially progressed extremely slowly (7 knots) Monday in Ukrainian waters due to the possible presence of mines and the state of the sea, before increasing its speed, according to Marine Traffic.
The Joint Coordination Centre, established in Istanbul, supervises Ukrainian grain exports and ensures strict application of the agreement signed on July 22 between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.
According to the procedure described by the authorities, “the ship will not enter a port of Istanbul, the inspections will be carried out at sea, at anchor” at the entrance to the Bosphorus on the Black Sea specified the Turkish Ministry of Defense .
The press was warned to stay away: “Boats will not be allowed to approach the ship. The Coastguard Command will take the necessary measures in this regard,” warned the Ministry of Defense.