Shipping Firms Still Want To Carry Ukraine Grain

Russia has fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports key to sending grain to the world and declared large swaths of the Black Sea as dangerous for shipping. Even the US said ships are at risk of being targeted, Courtney Bonnell reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Port of Odessa.

Yet, there is still interest from ship owners in carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea — if they can mitigate the risk, a major shipping group said. And that’s a big if.

Despite the warnings and port attacks, which have leveled grain infrastructure “shipping has always been very, very resilient in the face of these sorts of risks,” said John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80% of the world’s commercial fleet.

This week’s strikes came after Russia pulled out of a wartime accord that the UN and Turkey brokered last year to provide safeguards for shipping companies in a bid to end a global food crisis.

Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat, barley and vegetable oil to developing nations and has shipped 32.9 million metric tons of grain to the world and supplied 80% of the World Food Program’s wheat for humanitarian aid this year.

Ukraine has declared that ships calling on Russian ports in the Black Sea will be considered hostile and subjected to apprehension by its forces.

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