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A ship carrying thousands of tons of corn and vegetable oil from war-torn Ukraine has docked in northern Lebanon.
It is the first such vessel since Russia began invading its neighbor seven months ago.
AK Ambition, registered in Panama, loaded 6,250 tons of corn and nearly 18 tons of vegetable oil, and arrived in the northern city of Tripoli, where Ukrainian embassy officials waited at the port.
Lazoni’s grain shipment from Ukraine was returned last month and ended up in Syria, Russia’s ally, after Lebanese importers refused to accept the shipment, allegedly because of delays.
The Lazoni is the first ship to leave Ukraine for Lebanon after the United Nations signed a wartime agreement with several countries to guarantee the safe passage of ships carrying vital cargo.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Lebanon, Ihor Ostash, said the arrival of AK Ambition was part of an agreement signed by Ukrainian and Lebanese companies to deliver goods to Lebanon on a weekly basis.
It comes at a time when the small Mediterranean country desperately needs it amid an unprecedented economic collapse.
Ukraine is one of the world’s major global food suppliers, but the war has hampered most exports.
This caused world food prices to soar during the crisis, including in Lebanon.
The Lebanese are heavily dependent on Ukrainian food products, which account for 60% of Lebanon’s supply.
In early August, a Syrian vessel that Ukraine said was carrying stolen Ukrainian grain left Tripoli after Lebanese officials allowed it to sail following an investigation.
The Syrian-flagged Laodicea has been anchored in Tripoli for several days, carrying 8,929 tons of wheat flour and barley.
Moscow denies Ukraine’s claims of stolen food.
The economic crisis in Lebanon has led to soaring inflation and shortages of food such as wheat.
Long bread queues have plagued the country recently, where about two-thirds of the country’s six million people, including one million Syrian refugees, now live in poverty.
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