The first grain ship to depart Ukraine since the Russian invasion was cleared to travel through the Bosporus and on to its final destination after its cargo was checked and approved Wednesday under a United Nations and Turkey-brokered deal, authorities said.

An inspection team spent about 90 minutes conducting checks aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which was carrying Ukrainian corn and anchored off Istanbul, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said.

The team included officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the U.N., the parties to the agreement struck last month to create safe shipping corridors for exporting Ukraine's agricultural products as Russia's invasion of its neighbor continues.

Pictures tweeted by the Defense Ministry showed an inspector reaching into the Razoni's open hold and touching the grain. The Razoni’s horn rang out as the inspectors left the ship. The detailed mechanics of the inspection were not explained.

The vessel was due to pass through the Bosporus "shortly" and head for its final destination in Lebanon, the ministry said.

The Razoni, which the United Nations says is carrying over 26,500 tons of corn, set sail Monday from Odessa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. From Istanbul, it is on a voyage to cross the Bosporus, a 19-mile (30-kilometer) scenic waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea, before sailing on to Lebanon.

The departure of goods from Ukraine was made possible after Ankara and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertilizer export agreement between Moscow and Kyiv on July 22 – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a drawn-out war of attrition.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure confirmed the ship had passed the inspection and said 17 other vessels "are loaded and are awaiting permission to leave."

Ukraine's ambassador to Lebanon, Ihor Ostash, told reporters the Razoni was expected to arrive in Tripoli in four to five days.

Inspectors, some wearing white helmets, boarded the Razoni after two boats ferried them from a small fishing port at Istanbul’s Rumeli Feneri to the ship, which was escorted by two coast guard boats while a helicopter flew around it. Turkish media said there were about 20 inspectors.

The checks are intended to ensure that outbound cargo vessels are carrying only grain, fertilizer or related food items and not any other commodities, and that inbound ships are not carrying weapons.

The U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal re-launched the export of grains from one of the world’s top producers after they were stalled for more than five months after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion.

The holdup of shipments because of the war has worsened rising food prices worldwide and threatened hunger and political instability in developing nations.

Most of the grain stuck in Ukraine is to feed livestock, according to David Laborde, an expert at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington. Only 6 million tons is wheat, and just half of that is for human consumption, Laborde said. He said the Razoni is loaded with chicken feed.

Three ships a day

More ships from Ukraine are expected to set out in the coming days, raising hope that world food shortages can be alleviated. Some 27 vessels have been waiting in three Ukrainian ports with cargo and signed contracts, ready to go, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

There was no word about when those ships might set sail, although more are expected to depart Ukraine in the coming days.

After the first successful departure, a senior Turkish official said three ships may leave the three Ukrainian ports every day, instead of the previously planned one.

The deal will be extended for a month at a time if exports are not completed due to the weather or problems with inspections, the official said, adding that the 120-day period appeared sufficient for Ukrainian silos to be emptied.

An estimated 20 million tons of grain have been stuck in Ukraine since the start of the six-month-old war. The agreement last month to release the grain calls for the establishment of safe corridors through the mined waters outside Ukraine’s ports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the resumption of grain exports will reduce Russian authorities’ ability to extract concessions from the West.

"They are losing one of the opportunities to terrorize the world," he said in his nightly video address late Tuesday.