On the morning of August 26, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, Primus, finally left the port of Odesa. The ship is moving in the direction of the Bulgarian port of Varna. During its forced stay in Odesa due to the blockade, the ship’s owner changed, as well as its name and nationality.
The Primus became the second ship, after the Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte, to leave the port of Odesa after the grain corridor became unusable due to the Russian Federation’s hostile actions. The Joseph Schulte used the temporary corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy for civilian vessels and arrived in Turkey on August 18 with more than 30,000 tons of cargo.
According to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration, as of August 23 six ships with 262,000 tons of freight remained trapped in the ports of Odesa. Meanwhile, the US considers the existing routes for exporting Ukrainian grain “viable” and considers it realistic to restore exports to pre-war levels within the next few months.