Three new shipments of cereals left Ukraine in a convoy on Friday morning and another is heading for its coasts, empty, beginning a series of regular rotations to supply agricultural markets, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced.

The three vessels, loaded with corn, will serve Ireland, England and Turkey, the ministry said in a statement.

At the same time, a cargo ship, the Fulmar, under the flag of Barbados, is heading for the port of Chernomorsk to load grain there, the ministry said.

All are progressing under the watchful eye of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) established in Istanbul under the terms of the international agreement signed in Istanbul on July 22.

Russia and Ukraine have signed two separate agreements, validated by Turkey and the United Nations, which allow exports of Ukrainian cereals blocked by the war since February 24 and those of Russian agricultural products despite Western sanctions.