World Food Programme News

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation.The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse.Why is it important?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The current deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.Ukraine grain has also played a direct role with 725…

The U.N. aid chief said on Monday efforts will continue in coming days to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, a pact Russia has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.The final two ships are due to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday under the Black Sea deal, said a U.N. spokesperson."Continuation of the Black Sea Initiative is critically important," Martin Griffiths told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine. "We will continue to call on all to meet their responsibilities as the world watches us very closely."The U.N.

The Kremlin has said the outlook is "not so great" for extending beyond May 18 a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from some Ukrainian Black Sea ports, raising concerns over what happens next with the U.N.-backed sea corridor.The deal has helped to tackle a global food crisis that U.N. officials said had been worsened by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.Reached in July last year, it created a protected transit corridor to enable exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine…

Ukraine said seven vessels sailed off from its ports on Sunday carrying grain bound for Asia and Europe, but accused Russia of blocking the full implementation of Black Sea grain deal. "Russia is deliberately blocking the full realisation of the Grain Initiative. As a result, these (Ukrainian) ports in the last few days are working only at 25-30 percent of their capacity," Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement via the Telegram messaging app. The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Friday pressured by a dip in the capesize segment, but posted a weekly rise powered by overall gains across all vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 31 points, or about 1.6%, to 1,961.It posted a weekly gain of 11.4%, gaining for five out of the last six weeks.The capesize index lost 110 points, or about 4.4%, at 2,396, but notched up a 23% weekly gain.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal,

A ship carrying wheat from Ukraine to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa docked on Tuesday, the United Nations said, the first to make the journey since the Russian invasion six months ago.The vessel Brave Commander is carrying 23,000 tonnes of grain and will soon be followed by another carrying 7,000 tonnes.The total shipment, which will be unloaded in Djibouti and transported to Ethiopia, is enough to feed 1.5 million people for a month.That barely begins to alleviate the problems of Eastern Africa, where the United Nations' World Food Programme says extreme weather, surging food prices and conflict mean 82 million people need food aid across nine countries - Burundi…

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa on Monday under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.But there are many hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, which handle most of the corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seed and rapeseed exports of one of the world's top grain suppliers.Here are some…

A Syrian ship under U.S. sanctions has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut told Reuters on Thursday had been plundered by Russia from Ukrainian stores.The Laodicea docked in Tripoli on Wednesday, according to shipping data website MarineTraffic."The ship has traveled from a Crimean port that is closed to international shipping, carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores," the embassy told Reuters."This is the first time a shipment of stolen grains and flour reaches Lebanon," the statement said.Russia has previously denied the allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.

Finding enough seafarers willing to sail ships stuck inside Ukraine's ports is set to pose a major challenge to the proposed grains corridor designed to ease an international food crisis.Russia and Ukraine last week signed a deal to restart grain and fertilizer exports that have been blocked in the Black Sea and on Wednesday Turkey unveiled a center to coordinate the resumption of shipments.But some 80 ships remain blocked in Ukraine and the evacuation of most of their crew members means more mariners are needed in the region to get the cargoes moving.Henrik Jensen…

Russian missiles hit Ukraine's southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a deal signed just a day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike blatant "barbarism" showing Moscow could not be trusted to implement the deal. However, public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not caused significant…

Moscow said on Thursday that sanctions on Russia would have to be reviewed if it were to heed a U.N. appeal to open access to Ukraine's Black Sea ports so that grain could be exported, according to an Interfax news agency report. Read full storyUkraine, one of the world's biggest grain producers, used to export most of its goods through its seaports, but since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, it has been forced to export by train or via its small Danube River ports.U.N. food chief David Beasley appealed on Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin…

Ukraine faces a possible grain revenue loss of $6 billion as the blockade of its ports by Russian forces prevents it from selling millions of tonnes of wheat and corn that had been earmarked for export by June, a senior industry official said.Countries that rely on imports of Ukrainian wheat - including Egypt, Turkey and Yemen - will need to find alternative supplies, aid agencies have warned.Ukraine, a major producer of grain and oilseeds, exports 98% of its cereals through its ports and only a fraction by rail…

More than 40 people were feared to have drowned in Mozambique's conflict-torn north after their boat sank, the administrator of an island district said on Tuesday.Almost 400,000 people have fled their homes in the northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, according to the World Food Programme. Home to gas projects worth some $60 billion, the province is also the target of an Islamist insurgency with links to Islamic State that has flourished since 2017.The boat was carrying 74 people fleeing the violence when it sank on Sunday in the Indian Ocean between the islands of Ibo and Matemo…

European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA)’s Maritime Security Working Group met with the EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta at their operation headquarters in Rota, Spain. Representing the European shipping industry, the ECSA delegation met with the EU NAVFOR's team to discuss the current state of piracy off the coast of Somalia. The delegation also visited the naval assets participating in Operation Atalanta.For the past ten years, EU NAVFOR has deterred and prevented acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, protected vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP) and African Union Mission Somalia (AMISOM), and monitored acts of illegal fishing."While it is true that today the number of attacks is minimal…

Unidentified forces attacked a U.N. aid vessel off the main Yemeni port of Hodeidah at the weekend and started a fire in the engine room, port authorities said on Monday.The United Nations aid chief, Mark Lowcock, confirmed there had been an incident but said it was now over and everyone was safe, without elaborating.The vessel used by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) was attacked after delivering a shipment at Hodeidah, Yemen's Red Sea Ports Corporation said. The port is held by the Iranian-aligned armed Houthi movement which has taken large parts of the country in a three-year-old war.A WFP spokeswoman said an unidentified armed…

BIMCO has together with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), updated and modernised the WORLDFOOD voyage charter party used by the UN organisation to transport food to emergency areas around the world. The aim was to create a contract that made WFP’s work easier and faster. "The WORLDFOOD charter is an essential tool for the WFP as the majority of food that we deliver is transported by chartered ships at sea. It is crucial that we have a charter party that gives us the flexibility required when operating in volatile areas of the world. BIMCO’s input and support during this drafting process has been invaluable," said Loutphi Madani, Senior Legal Officer of the WFP.

United Nations and Russian officials warned on Tuesday against any attack by Saudi-led coalition forces on the Houthi-held Yemeni port of Hodeidah, the aid lifeline for a country where millions of people are in desperate need of food. The warring factions must ensure deliveries of food and medical aid to starving people, senior U.N. officials said at a donor conference in Geneva. Nearly $1.1 billion has now been pledged towards a United Nations appeal of $2.1 billion for Yemen this year, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced, calling it a "remarkable success". "Across Yemen, hunger and malnutrition have reached unprecedented levels and the threat of famine looms large.

The United States is closely watching a recent increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia, a senior U.S. military official said on Sunday as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited an important military base in Djibouti. The rise in piracy attacks has at least partially been driven by famine and drought in the region, the top U.S. military commander overseeing troops in Africa said during Mattis' visit as part of a week-long trip to the Middle East and Africa. The United States uses the base in Djibouti…

The European Council has extended the mandate for European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) - Operation ATALANTA - until 31 December 2018, which means Cohort company MASS will continue to provide the Classified Mission Network for the enduring Operation. Operation ATALANTA was launched in December 2008 to contribute to the deterrence, prevention and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast. The operation also protects vessels of the World Food Programme and other vulnerable shipping, monitors fishing activities off the coast of Somalia and supports other EU missions and programmes in the region. MASS provides the core operational mission network for the effective command and control of this multi-national Operation both ashore and afloat.

Maritime security company Maritime Asset Security Training (MAST) has announced their partnership with Astbury Marine Services & Associates (AMSA), a specialist shipping and insurance response business. The combination of front-line experience and industry knowledge place MAST and AMSA as leaders in their field. The two companies will work together to provide an increased portfolio of risk management services to clients trading in difficult or complex environments. These include support following an insurance incident…

The United Nations will start inspecting shipments to rebel-held ports in Yemen in a bid to boost commercial imports and enforce an arms embargo, the world body said on Tuesday, some eight months after announcing it would establish such a procedure. Yemen relies almost solely on imports, but a 14-month long conflict between Houthi rebels and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition has slowed to a trickle commercial shipments to the impoverished country where 80 percent of people need humanitarian aid. The United Nations announced in September it would set up a verification and inspection mechanism. Then in October U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien said the United Nations was still trying to raise some $8 million to fund the Djibouti-based operation. It began operations on Monday, U.N.

A World Food Programme (WFP) ship carrying humanitarian aid offloaded its cargo in Yemen on Wednesday, the United Nations said, after it was diverted to Saudi Arabia last month because it was carrying communications equipment. Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition in a war against Iran-allied Houthi rebels and army forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in an effort to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. The Mainport Cedar, which the United Nations said was carrying a cargo of humanitarian relief supplies bound for the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida…