An UN-brokered safe passage deal for the export of Ukrainian grain has picked up further steam over the weekend, with seven more vessels underway, on top of the five ships sailing last week. Turkish authorities, which are coordinating the effort alongside officials from the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, announced that a group of four ships that departed Ukrainian ports will anchor at Istanbul late on Monday to undergo the customary inspections on Tuesday.

They include Star Bulk’s 82,200-dwt Star Helena (built 2006), which will carry 45,000 tonnes of sunflower to China; the 76,500-dwt Glory (built 2005) with a load of 66,000 tonnes of corn; Seamax Marine’s 53,500-dwt Riva Wind (built 2005) with 44,000 tonnes of corn enroute to Iskenderun, Turkey; and Turkish-controlled 7,000-dwt Mustafa Necati (built 2015), which is carrying 6,000 tonnes of sunflower to Italy.

A subsequent convoy that departed Ukraine on Monday morning includes Intresco’s 13,100-dwt Sacura (built 2011), enroute from Yuzhny to Italy with 11,000 tonnes of soybean, and Ocean Agencies’ 57,000-dwt Arizona (built 2010), which is carrying 48,000 tonnes of corn from Chornomorsk to Iskenderun. In the reverse direction, Armador Shipping’s 30,600-dwt Osprey S (built 2007) has left Turkish waters empty to load a cargo in Chornomorsk.

All in all, about 305,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain are currently seaborne under the UN scheme. Far more vessels need to travel in the corridors to approach pre-war traffic levels that would help avert a global food crisis, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted on Friday. “We have to provide the processing of 100 [vessels] per month to be able to export the necessary quantum of foodstuffs,” Kubrakov said.

Ukraine has also called for the safe passage deal to be extended to other commodities, such as metals.