The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain has set off from the port of Odesa, Turkey's defense ministry said Monday. The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, Razoni left the port of Odesa for Lebanon, the ministry said.
A statement from the United Nations said the Razoni is carrying over 26,000 tonnes of corn. Data from the Razoni's Automatic Identification System, a safety tracker for ships at sea, showed the vessel slowly coming out from its berth at Odesa port Monday morning alongside a tug boat.
The ship is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected, before being allowed to proceed, the ministry said. The corn will head to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation in the grips of what the World Bank has described as one of the world's worst financial crises in more than 150 years.