Ship Carrying Grain For Ethiopia Sets Sail From Ukraine.

More than a dozen grain ships have now left Ukraine since the July 22 agreement.

A United Nations-chartered ship loaded with 23,000 tons Ukrainian grain has set sail from a Black Sea port for Ethiopia, the first shipment of its kind in a program to assist countries facing famine.

The Lebanese-flagged Brave Commander departed from the Ukrainian port of Yuzhne , east of Odesa, on August 16, according to Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry. Earlier reports quoting a regional governor said the ship had set sail on August 14. However, the vessel actually remained in port for unannounced reasons.

The ship is expected to sail to Djibouti, where the grain will be unloaded and transferred to neighboring Ethiopia under the World Food Program (WFP) initiative.

"The Ministry of Infrastructure and the United Nations are working on ways to increase food supplies for the socially vulnerable sections of the African population," the ministry statement said.

Ukraine and Russia reached a deal with Turkey on July 22 to restart Black Sea grain deliveries after a five-month stoppage triggered by Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

Russia’s navy blockaded ports in Ukraine -- one of the world’s largest exporters of grain -- amid its large scale invasion of the country. The blockade sparked fears of a global food shortage and caused prices of grain to skyrocket, hitting impoverished nations hard.

Ethiopia is one of five countries that the UN considers at risk of famine.

The WFP said the shipment was "an important milestone" in efforts to get much needed Ukrainian grain out of the country and into countries worst affected by the global food crisis.

“Getting the Black Sea Ports open is the single most important thing we can do right now to help the world’s hungry,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley .

“It will take more than grain ships out of Ukraine to stop world hunger, but with Ukrainian grain back on global markets we have a chance to stop this global food crisis from spiraling even further,” he added.

The Infrastructure Ministry said that 17 grain ships carrying 475,000 tons of agricultural products have now left Ukraine since the July 22 agreement.