As the The Joseph Schulte<\/em>, a 10-year-old, 9,400 teu boxship, yesterday became the first ship<\/a><\/span> to trial Ukraine\u2019s recently announced \u2018humanitarian corridor<\/a><\/span>\u2019 to allow the many international ships stranded since war began in February 2022.<\/p>\n The Hong Kong-flagged ship, owned by a Chinese bank and the Schulte Group and managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), left Odesa early yesterday morning, heading to Istanbul via the territorial waters of Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey.<\/p>\n Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the safe passage of the Joseph Schulte<\/em>, posting on social media yesterday: \u201cUkraine has just made an important step toward restoring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n There remain around 60 international ships marooned in war-torn Ukrainian waters, however vessel tracking data checked by Splash<\/em> today show a number of ships, predominantly bulk carriers, have signalled ports in Turkey in the coming weeks, suggesting a mass exodus in the wake of the keenly watched departure of the Joseph Schulte.<\/p>\n Ukraine announced a temporary corridor in the Black Sea a week ago to release merchant ships stuck in its ports since the outbreak of war a year and a half ago. The move, coordinated with the International Maritime Organization, is seen as a challenge to Russia\u2019s naval blockade it has enacted in recent weeks since quitting a United Nations-brokered grain shipping pact<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Insurers were left reeling last year when Russia invaded Ukraine with a vast number of assets \u2013 including ships \u2013 left stranded and under fire. A huge operation to get stranded seafarers out of the country took place over the opening months of the war, a time when a number of merchant ships were hit in the crossfire.<\/p>\n Immediately after Russia withdrew from the grain deal last month, it stated that all vessels calling Ukraine will be suspected of carrying weapon supplies to Ukraine<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s navy then conducted multiple strikes on Ukrainian grain facilities and ports including at the Danube River port of Izmail which was an alternative route for exporting grain via Romania.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tJoseph Schulte<\/span> nears its safe harbour destination in Turkey, other ships in Ukraine are readying their voyage plans to exit the war-torn country having been stranded for more than 530 days. Meanwhile, in the opposite direction a number of vessels are bound for Ukrainian ports suggesting Russia has either eased or lost its grip on the western edges of the Black Sea, battered by a recent series of naval drone attacks<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n