UN Secretary General António Guterres welcomed the departure of the first merchant ship with Ukrainian grain from the port of Odessa.

"The first commercial ship leaving the port of Odesa since February has sailed for Lebanon, carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn. This is an achievement of the Joint Coordination Centre underUN auspices, comprised of representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation & Turkey," he tweeted.

The UN chief hopes that the first ship will become one of many grain carriers under the signed initiative, which will thus bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security, the statement also said.

Earlier, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine reported that the first ship with 26,000 tons of corn left the port of Odessa and was heading to Lebanon.