ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A cargo ship carrying 3,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine under a U.N.-brokered export deal drifted aground in Turkey’s Bosphorus strait on Thursday, halting shipping through Istanbul, according to the governor’s office and a shipping firm.
The Istanbul governor’s office said the 173-meter “Lady Zehma” was safely grounded and anchored after a rudder failure around 1800 GMT. No one was hurt and Coast Guards were attending, it said.
Earlier this week the Joint Coordination Centre – run by the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey after a grains-export deal was reached – said the Lady Zehma was cleared to depart Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port for Ravenna, Italy, with 3,000 tonnes of corn.
(Reporting by Can Sezer and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Mark Porter)
