Three more ships leave Ukrainian ports

Daniill Melnychenko, a transport analyst with Odessa-based consultancy Informall, said that the Liberia flagged, 74,800dwt, Ying Hao 01, loaded with iron ore, had left Ukraine on Sunday morning, with VesselsValue AIS putting its position at around 20km off the Ukrainian coast, east of Vylkove, at around midday on 1 October.

Ying Hao 01 is owned by the Hong Kong based Dongguan Yinghao Shipping Management company.

VesselsValue AIS put the position of the 13,900dwt Azara at about 50km behind Ying Hao 01, steaming at around 13knts and also said to be laden, with the cargo uncertain, but possibly grain.

The third vessel Eneida, is also said to be laden and left Ukraine at 11:30 local time, heading for Spain’s southern coast. The 45,600dwt bulk carrier was also, the two vessels ahead, hugging the western Black Sea coastline.

Azara had been the first of the three ships to leave port at 10:50am local time bound for Burgas in Bulgaria. Twenty minutes later the fully laden Ying Hao 01 also departed for Istanbul.

All three vessels are potential targets for the Russian military, but recent developments which have seen war risk insurance offer some protection to vessel and cargo owners may encourage further movements along what the Kyiv is calling its Humanitarian Corridor.

Last month insurer Miller and maritime tech company Clearwater Dynamics collaborated to develop a war risks facility to protect both cargo and hull for shipments from three Ukrainian facilities Chornomorsk, Odessa and Port Yuzhnyi.

Whether that deal has played a role in the latest dash from Ukrainian ports is not known, however, the number of ships departing carrying cargo is growing.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov confirmed on X (formerly Twitter), that the three vessels loaded with grain and iron ore had left ports Chornomorsk and Pivdenniy. Adding that another five ships are waiting to moor at Ukrainian ports for loading.

“At the same time, five new vessels are waiting to be loaded in Ukrainian ports. Bulk carriers Olga, Ida, Danny Boy, Forza Doria, New Legacy are going to export almost 120,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain to Africa and Europe,” wrote Kubrakov on 1 October.

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