First civilian vessel leaves Odesa through temporary corridor in Black Sea

The first commercial vessel is heading for the Bosphorus within the newly created temporary corridor from the ports of the Odesa region.

Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction and Minister of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov announced that the container ship JOSEPH SCHULTE (Hong Kong flag) has left the port of Odesa and is moving along the temporary corridor established for civilian vessels to/from the Black Sea seaports of Ukraine.

According to the deputy prime minister, the container train has been in the port of Odesa since February 23, 2022, left the Vorontsovskyi lighthouse, and is heading for the Bosphorus. More than 30,000 tons of cargo (2,114 containers), including food, are on board.

"The corridor will primarily be used to evacuate ships that were in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi at the time of the full-scale invasion," the statement says.

What we know about corridors in the Black Sea

On July 17, the Kremlin refused to extend its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by Turkiye and the UN, to open Ukrainian ports, blocked by Russian warships since the start of the invasion in February 2022, for food and grain export.

After Russia pulled out of the deal, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, offered Turkiye and the UN to continue the grain initiative in a trilateral format. Ukraine is considering the possibility of transporting food through the territorial waters of Romania and Bulgaria.

On July 19, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation threatened that any countries under whose flags ships would be sent to Ukrainian ports would be considered involved in the war. In turn, Ukraine promised to respond in kind to Russia's threats to sink ships.

Almost a month after Russia withdrew from the grain agreement, Ukraine announced opening temporary corridors for merchant ships in the Black Sea. However, the Navy of Ukraine stressed that the threat from the Russian Federation remains.

The routes are primarily intended for the departure of civilian ships that have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi since the beginning of the full-scale war.

Later, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Oleh Chalyk, explained that the corridor in the Black Sea would be transparent, and cameras would be installed on the ship to certify that this was only a humanitarian mission.

After that, Ukraine opened registration for merchant vessels and their owners to travel on temporary routes from/to Odesa ports.

After leaving the grain agreement, Russia constantly attacks Ukraine's port and grain infrastructure. In particular, the ports of the Odesa region came under attack. The Russian occupiers repeatedly attacked the port of Izmail, which is located near the border with Romania, a NATO member.