President Zelensky announced the successful passage of the first ship through the temporary Ukrainian sea corridor. He noted that this is considered an important step towards restoring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
Ukraine has just made an important step toward restoring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. The first civilian vessel has passed through Ukraine’s new humanitarian corridor, departing from the port of Odesa. It’s currently on its way to the Bosporus.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2023
Earlier, Ukraine…
Currently, the Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte is near the Romanian port of Constanta, heading towards the Bosphorus, according to Marine Traffic.
Earlier, Andriy Klymenko, head of the Sanctions and Freedom of Navigation Monitoring Group, said that the ship had followed a new sea corridor and only twice, on short sections of the route, had gone beyond the territorial waters of Ukraine.
It is planned that this route will also be used by ships that have been staying there since the beginning of hostilities.
As we reported earlier, on August 16, the first ship left the port of Odesa through the temporary corridor.
UPDATED
The container ship "Joseph Schulte" will arrive in Istanbul this evening, Reuters reports.
As noted, the ship is currently in Romanian waters, and all crew on board are safe.
