12 ships a day are checked in, – the UN
7.10.2022 - 16:10
At the moment, the UN is not aware of plans by any of the delegations to reduce the number of inspections of vessels moving through the “grain corridor”.
In recent days, the Sea of Marmara has been experiencing a traffic jam with more than 40 vessels that have to go through the “grain corridor”. Rumor has it, that on the market about the plans of the Russian delegation in Istanbul to reduce the number of ship inspections.
From the beginning of the grain initiative on August 1 to September 5, the teams of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) carried out 582 inspections – an average of 7 inspections per day. So far, 282 vessels have passed through the “grain corridor”, each of which is checked at the entrance and exit.Ismini Palla, spokeswoman for the UN Black Sea Grain Initiative, told about this in an interview with Latifundist.
According to her, during the operation of the “grain corridor”, the largest number of successful inspections per day reached 14 vessels, the smallest – 5.
Ismini Palla says there has been no recent decrease in the number of vessel inspections, with data from last week (September 29 to October 5) showing an average of 12 inspections per day.
Inspectors search vessels for any unauthorized cargo or crew. Completion of inspections depends on several factors, primarily the readiness of the vessel and master, including adherence to fumigation and ventilation procedures, availability of test equipment, and current and accurate documentation.
The spokeswoman of the UN explained the traffic jam in the Sea of Marmara, in particular, by the increased interest of the industry in the initiative. Weather conditions and the health of inspectors (COVID, surprisingly, has not yet disappeared) can also affect the speed of inspections, but are not significant deterrents.
Ismini Palla also responded to rumors that the russian side proposes to reduce the number of inspection teams.
“Regarding this issue, I cannot speak on behalf of the russian delegation. But we were not aware of any plans by any SCC delegation to curtail their permanent inspection capabilities,” the UN spokeswoman commented. She states that the SCC is constantly discussing in its plenary meetings proposals to increase the current inspection capacity of all delegations and to improve the readiness of vessels for inspections to meet the growing demand and reduce congestion.
