The first ship carrying wheat under the scope of a deal brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations arrived in Istanbul on Sunday, according to a statement by the Joint Coordination Center, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
The Belize-flagged vessel is the first to carry wheat from Ukraine through the Black Sea. The Sormovsky was loaded with 3,050 metric tons of wheat and had left Ukraine's port of Chornomorsk on Friday.
Reuters footage showed the ship crossing the Bosporus strait and docking there, awaiting inspection.
It was the first shipment of wheat from Ukraine, which, along with Russia, accounted for nearly a third of global wheat exports before Feb. 24.
A total of 18 ships have departed from Ukraine over the past two weeks, following the deal with Russia to allow a resumption of grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, after they stalled for five months due to the war.
Ukraine has some 20 million tons of grain left over from last year’s crop, while this year’s wheat harvest is also estimated at 20 million tons.
Russia, Ukraine, the U.N. and Türkiye signed a landmark deal that aims at releasing millions of tons of wheat and other grain trapped in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, in a move hailed as a major step toward averting a global food crisis.
The deal was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that could restore Ukrainian grain shipments to prewar levels of 5 million tons a month.