Ukraine's first UN grain ship prepares to leave for Africa

PORT OF PIVDENNYI, Ukraine - Sailors in blue and orange coveralls moved around the deck of the freighter Brave Commander on Sunday as a series of chutes and conveyors loaded the ship's cargo hold of 23,000 metric tons of wheat bound for Africa.

The Brave Commander, a Lebanese-flagged freighter, was scheduled to leave later in the day from Pivdennyi, the one of the biggest Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea river, near Odessa. This is the first vessel specially chartered by the World Food Program as part of an effort to deliver much needed grain to the countries most affected by food shortages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This shipment will eventually make its way to Ethiopia, which is "on the brink of famine", according to Marianne Ward of the World Food Programme, a United Nations agency.

"This food will make a huge difference to them," she said. "The big message for us is that the world needs food from Ukraine."

Ukrainian grain was said to have fed 400 million people last year , according to Ms Ward , and the lack of cargo from Ukrainian ports blocked by Russian warships in the Black Sea has had profound repercussions around the world. Prices soared and tens of millions of people, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, were put at risk of starvation.

At least five countries are currently experiencing famine- similar conditions and 20 more are on the "famine watch list", said Denise Brown, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

Pivdennyi Port is the last of the three major ports to come online after months of hiatus since the start of the war on February 24. On August 1, the first ship loaded with Ukrainian harvest left the port of Odessa, following an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to allow the export of approximately 20 million tons of grain blocked in Ukrainian silos since the start of the war.

Since then, at least eight ships have successfully crossed the mined waters of the Black Sea to deliver grain to Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Aboard the Brave Commander, which arrived in Ukraine from Istanbul last week, crew members were busy preparing the ship to sail as a large parachute pumped golden wheat into the hold. The sailors said they had no safety concerns, although they expected to encounter more problems when their ship docked in Ukraine.

"We were surprised because you have the war in Ukraine," said a crew member from Syria who only gave his name as Mohammad. "But it wasn't difficult."< /p>