Cargill-chartered ship ‘hit by a projectile’ amid Ukraine invasion while port shutdown disrupts grain supplies
- Ukraine has suspended commercial shipping at its ports, stoking fear of supply disruption from leading grain and oilseeds exporters
- Shipper Maersk has halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and closed its main office in Odessa on the Black Sea coast
Global farm commodities trader Cargill said an ocean vessel it chartered was “hit by a projectile” on the Black Sea on Thursday. The ship remained seaworthy and all crew were safe and accounted for.
The incident occurred offshore from Ukraine after Russia launched an invasion of the major grain-producing country where Cargill operates an export terminal.
Ukraine’s has suspended commercial shipping at its ports, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said, stoking fear of supply disruption from leading grain and oilseeds exporters. Main grain ports include Chornomorsk, Mikolayiv, Odessa, Kherson and Yuzhny.
Russia earlier ordered the Azov Sea closed to the movement of commercial vessels until further notice, but kept Russian ports in the Black Sea open for navigation, officials and industry sources said. Ukraine is a major exporter of corn, much of it destined for China and Europe. It also competes with Russia to supply wheat to global buyers.
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Sailors injured as Russia attacks and seizes Ukrainian ships in Black Sea
Industry estimates currently put Ukraine’s grain exports at about 5 million to 6 million tonnes a month, comprising about 4.5 million tonnes of corn, 1 million tonnes of wheat and a remaining share of mainly barley.
