First Ukraine grain deal vessel docks in Türkiye after buyer refuses delivery

ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The first grain ship leaving Ukraine under a deal by the United Nations, Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye docked at a southern Turkish port on Thursday after the buyer in Lebanon rejected the cargo, Turkish news agency DHA reported.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni will unload some of its cargo at the port of Mersin, according to DHA.

The vessel left the Black Sea port of Odesa in southern Ukraine on Aug. 2, carrying about 26,000 tonnes of corn to the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

The cargo ship was first inspected off Türkiye's largest city Istanbul by a joint monitoring center team according to the agreement before heading to Tripoli.

However, the Lebanese buyer rejected the cargo, citing the delay in delivery "for more than five months," the Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon said on Monday.

"The shipment supplier is now looking for another buyer who could be in Lebanon's Tripoli city, or in another country or port," the embassy said in a statement.

On July 22, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal with Türkiye and the United Nations to allow food and fertilizer exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.

The deal aims to allow safe passage for ships carrying grain to world markets amid concerns about food shortages because of the prolonged conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both major global wheat suppliers.