Istanbul, Turkiye
In the first occurrence of this kind since a July export agreement mediated by the United Nations, a cargo ship carrying more than 3,000 tonnes (3,307 tonnes) of corn from Ukraine grounded in Istanbul on Thursday.
The 173-meter (567.59-foot) Lady Zehma was securely grounded and anchored following a rudder failure at around 1800 GMT, according to the Istanbul governor's office and a shipping company.
? | Cargo ship "Lady Zehma" transporting corn from #Ukraine runs aground at the Bosphorus in #Türkiye's #Istanbul.
âªï¸Turkish Coastguard sends ships to save the Lady Zehma.
âªï¸Traffic at the Bosphorus has been suspended. pic.twitter.com/KbDWsNEBNx
â EHA News (@eha_news) September 1, 2022
The office said that no one was wounded and that Coast Guards were responding. According to a witness and Refinitiv Eikon data, its bow was around 150 metres from the beach in the crowded Bebek neighbourhood.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and blockade of its Black Sea ports, which raised food prices globally and raised concerns about scarcity in Africa and the Middle East, Ukraine's grain exports plummeted.
The agreement, negotiated by the U.N. and Ankara and signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv, unblocked three ports.
The ship "got stranded during her passage from the strait (and) an emergency boarding operation is underway," according to Turkish police, according to the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which manages the deal and involves U.N., Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish officials.
Also Read: Scientists have discovered Africa's oldest dinosaur named Mbiresaurus raathi in Zimbabwe
The Lady Zehma was given permission earlier this week to sail from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk to Ravenna, Italy, carrying 3,000 tonnes of corn, according to the JCC. The Tribeca shipping company in Turkiye reported that it contained 30,274 tonnes of maize.
According to the JCC, 139 inbound and outbound journeys had been made possible as of Wednesday, and around 1.55 million tonnes of grain and other products have been exported from Ukraine as a result of the agreement.
On the gorgeous Bosphorus, which separates Turkiye's largest metropolis and links the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and ultimately to the Mediterranean, such incidents are uncommon.
(with inputs from agencies)