After a year and a half of waiting, a German container ship was able to leave the Ukrainian port of Odessa on the Black Sea on Wednesday. The Joseph Schulte docked in Odessa on February 23, 2022. A day later, Russia invaded the neighboring country and blocked the ports. Since then, countless international cargo ships have been stranded in Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Kubrakow announced on Facebook on Wednesday morning that Joseph Schulte was using a temporary corridor leading to and from Ukraine’s seaports. In the evening, the Hamburg shipping company BSM confirmed that the ship had successfully crossed Ukrainian waters. According to the marine information service Marine Traffic, the cargo ship was sailing in Romanian waters not far from the town of Sfântu Gheorghe at the time. “Ukraine has taken an important step to restore freedom of navigation in the Black Sea,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a little later on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He also confirmed that the Joseph Schulte has left Ukrainian waters and is now heading, of course, for the Bosphorus.
The Hong Kong-flagged ship would carry more than 2,100 containers with about 30,000 tons of general cargo and will now sail through the territorial waters of Ukraine, Romania and Turkey. The departure apparently preceded agreements with many parties. The company thanked “various stakeholders on the ground”, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the flag state of Hong Kong and others who enabled the ship’s safe passage.
Most of the crew had been safe for some time
According to the shipping company, the crew is doing well. After the outbreak of war, part of the ship’s crew was brought from the Ukraine. A Ukrainian skeleton crew kept the 300-meter container freighter in good condition, a company spokeswoman said. Only Ukrainian seamen are on board for the current voyage.
Ukraine has been fighting off a Russian invasion for more than 17 months. The Ukrainian Black Sea ports are blockaded by the Russian fleet. For just over a year, an exception has been in force for Ukrainian agricultural exports from three ports around Odessa. Russia announced this in mid-July. Since then, no cargo ship has called at the seaports. Russia sees all ships bound for Ukrainian ports as potential carriers of supplies for the Ukrainian army.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
