Having announced temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to or from Ukraine's Black Sea ports on 8 August, Ukraine has already opened registration for passage through these corridors.
Source. This was reported by Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, as cited by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Registration is now open, the coordinator is working," he said on the air of the national TV marathon on Saturday.
Pletenchuk clarified that he could not disclose the results of these events at this time.
He noted that the decision to open these maritime communication routes was approved after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
According to him, shipowners and ship captains have been warned that there is a danger – both the danger of counteraction from the Russian fleet and the danger of mines, which remains high in the Black Sea.
"Of course, everything will take place under the supervision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are doing everything we can to ensure security," Pletenchuk emphasised.
He noted that the main objectives of this decision were to overcome the international humanitarian crisis and to enable shipowners and companies to finally take back their merchant ships, which have been in humanitarian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale russian armed aggression.
Ukraine has reportedly previously proposed these routes in an appeal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO Council recognized Ukraine's right to free commercial navigation, which is guaranteed by international maritime law. The IMO called on russia to comply with international conventions and stop threatening merchant shipping in the Black Sea.
The last ship with Ukrainian food under the Black Sea Grain Initiative left the port of Odesa on July 16. Following russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, the aggressor state attacked the port grain infrastructure in order to cut off access to world markets for Ukrainian food. World leaders, particularly those from Africa, called on russia to stop blackmailing Ukraine with food and not to impede Ukrainian agricultural exports.