The first grain ship to set sail from Ukraine under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye docked at port in Mersin in Türkiye on Thursday.

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, Razoni was destined for Tripoli in Lebanon but proceeded to anchor off Türkiye's southern coast.

According to Ukraine’s embassy, the buyer opted against taking the delivery following a five-month delay leaving the vessel to search for a new buyer.

The Razoni departed the Ukrainian port of Odesa on August 1 and had been at sea for 11 days.

The ship, which was carrying more than 26,000 tonnes of corn, is expected to offload 1,500 tonnes of corn in Türkiye and proceed to Egypt with the rest of its load.

"1,500 tonnes will be offloaded in Mersin and the rest will go to Egypt," Kadir Soyer, agency director at Mersin-based shipping agent Toros, told Reuters.

Soyer added that Toros would only handle the docking and offloading in Türkiye and would not participate in the ship's voyage to Egypt.

(With input from Reuters)