Moscow is blocking vessel registrations in a bid to accelerate progress in the promotion of its own ammonia exports

Threat of collateral damage on civilian shipping in or around war risk area remains high, and could stem from floating mines

No ships were registered between May 4-17 in the run up to the Russia’s deadline, despite applications being submitted to the JCC 

One of Ukraine’s export hubs has not received any ships since early May

The most recent vessel that was cleared to travel to Yuzhnyi port, under the grain deal, was on May 2

Russia continues to use its participation in the Black Sea Grain Iniatiative as a bargaining chip to push forward progress on the facilitation of the export of its own agricultural products

Three vessels have been registered to travel into the Odesa region, and one stranded ship has been granted permission to depart under the initiative

An agreement has been reached for the Black Sea Grain Initiative to continue for another 60 days

When the grain deal was extended for its third term there were mixed messages whether it would run for 60 or 120 days. There is no clarity on what will happen on May 18, the deadline imposed by Russian officials

A new operation run by RosKapStroy will see 6,000 tonnes of building materials delivered to the port of Mariupol in May and the equivalent export of agricultural products

Stena orders first methanol-capable ro-ro cargo ships, US import volumes are expected to continue climbing throughout the summer — but will remain far below last year’s record levels, and containership demolition data revealed 

The bulk carrier began sending unusual AIS transmissions at the end of March 2022. A journey to the Gulf of Oman was then tracked in February of this year

Registrations have stopped, inspections are down, and overall operations have slowed during the initiative’s third term. Representatives from the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye met in Istanbul yesterday to discuss the future of the initiative

Russian government officials set a deadline of May 18 on the grain deal’s extension when it was renewed in March. Arrivals to Ukraine’s designated export hubs fell in April and have since ground to a halt

European Commission plans to ban ships engaging in deceptive practices including illicit ship-to-ship transfer operations and ‘dark’ AIS voyages as the EU considers its 11^th package of sanctions, but concerns remain regarding legal and practical enforcement details yet to emerge

The UN indicates efforts are under way to ensure the extension of the grain deal, but there has been no clarity on whether the agreement will continue past Moscow’s May 18 deadline