The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since Russia’s invasion will no longer arrive in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli on Sunday as planned, Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut said.
“Tomorrow’s arrival of (the) Razoni ship is postponed,” the embassy told AFP in a message on Saturday.
Updates regarding an arrival ceremony “will be sent later when we get information about (the) exact day and time of the arrival of the ship,” it added.
Asked why the arrival was postponed, an embassy spokesperson said: “I don’t have any other information at the moment.”
An official following the shipment said the vessel might not even dock in Lebanon if the cargo’s owner manages to sell it elsewhere.
“The ship will only go to Lebanon… if a trader buys the cargo,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
According to vessel finder website the ship is currently at anker off Northern Syrian coast
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port of Odessa last Monday carrying 26,000 tons of corn, and stopped in Turkey the next day.
It was cleared for passage through the Bosphorus Strait by a team that included Russian and Ukrainian inspectors on Wednesday, and a Ukraine embassy spokesperson had later said it was expected to dock in Lebanon’s port of Tripoli at 10 am (0700 GMT) on Sunday.
The delivery is the first under a U.N.-backed deal, brokered with the help of Turkey last month, which aims to ease a global food crisis.
Lebanon, which is struggling with one of the world’s worst financial crises, is facing a particularly acute bread shortage.
Kyiv said another three ships loaded with grain set sail from Ukraine on Friday, heading for Turkey and markets in Ireland and Britain. A further 13 are waiting to depart.
No confirmed buyer
Razoni’s bill of lading, a copy of which was seen by Reuters on Sunday, had the expected arrival date as Tuesday and listed the cargo destination as “to order,” which typically means that a ship’s cargo can be be sold to the highest bidder
Lebanon’s transport, agriculture and economy ministers told Reuters last week they did not know who was purchasing the grain aboard the Razoni.
The Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which will oversee the export of Ukrainian grain, said the ship would be used as a trial run, with information from Razoni’s crew used to fine-tune procedures for the next shipments.
Kyiv disappointed with Lebanon
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is disappointed by the decision of the Lebanese court to lift the seizure of the Syrian vessel Laodicea, which was transporting Ukrainian flour and barley that was stolen by Russia.
That’s according to a statement released on Thursday by the ministry: .
“Despite the evidence provided, the court took no account of the position of Ukraine’s competent authorities,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
Ukrainian diplomats noted that the decision of the Lebanese court allowed the Laodicea, which is under international sanctions due to the illegal export of goods from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, to leave the port of Tripoli without hindrance, carrying stolen Ukrainian flour and barley.
Caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamiyeh, who is closely associated with the Iranian backed Hezbollah and who pushed for the ship’s departure tweeted that “Syrian-flagged Laodicea is now outside Lebanon’s territorial waters.”
AFP /Reuters/ Ya Libnan
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