Ship from Ukraine port nears Turkey despite Russian blockade

ISTANBUL: A civilian cargo vessel sailing from Ukraine in defiance of a Russian blockade was hugging the coast of Bulgaria on Thursday on its way to Turkey, marine traffic monitors said.

The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte left the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Wednesday morning — the first vessel to sail since Russia attacked another ship in the Black Sea over the weekend.

A German company that co-owns the container vessel said it would “probably” reach its destination in Istanbul later Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ship was using a “new humanitarian corridor” that Kyiv established after Russia last month scuppered a landmark agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain and foodstuffs across the Black Sea.

The Joseph Schulte’s mission came just days after Russian military personnel fired warning shots and boarded a small Turkish-crewed cargo vessel that was travelling to the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea and Danube River port infrastructure since pulling out of the UN and Turkey-mediated grain deal.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the new sea route “will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were in ports at the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russia” in February of last year.

But Ukraine’s decision to challenge Russia over sea access comes with world attention focusing on ways to secure grain export routes in time for this autumn’s harvest.

Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain and seed oil.