At least 112 vessels are awaiting inspection at the RCC in Istanbul

Currently, the number of vessels traveling through the “grain corridor” to and from Ukrainian ports has significantly decreased, as has the number of inspections by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.

According to the UN, since the continuation of the Black Sea Initiative after November 19, no more than 5 ships leave the ports of Great Odessa per day. For comparison, in previous weeks and months, up to 10 ships left Ukrainian ports per day, Reuters reports.

Currently, at least 112 vessels are awaiting inspections in the waters off Istanbul.

SCC representative Ismini Palla said that the movement of vessels in the “grain corridor” was affected by the uncertainty regarding the continuation of the “grain agreement”, poor weather conditions in Istanbul for inspections, as well as the rotation of new staff and inspectors in the Joint Coordination Center.

In total, 27 ships left Ukraine during the week to November 23, compared to 36 a week earlier, and 38 during the period from October 27 to November. Only 8 ships left the ports of Great Odesa between November 3 and 9 — immediately after russia renewed its participation in the agreements.

“RCC continues discussions on how to adjust the planning of inspections for the winter and deploy sufficient capacity. We call on all parties to make every effort to agree on a sustainable and viable way forward,” added Ismini Palla, referring to all parties to the Istanbul Agreements, even though the success of the initiative is being openly sabotaged by only one of the initiative’s participants.