Grain deal extension gives brief respite

Odesa, Ukraine

A grain ship moored at the grain terminal of Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa. Russia has agreed to an initial 60-day extension to the UN-brokered deal that allows for Ukrainian crops to be transported through safe corridors in the Black Sea.

The deal was first struck in July last year and extended for 120 days in November, but Moscow had previously hinted it could block another extension.

In February, Reuters reported that insurers have been left scrambling to quantify the losses incurred as a result of merchant ships still stranded in the region. One source put the figure at US$500mn, noting that aviation losses could be far higher.