The handysize bulk carrier Razoni was one of roughly 80 international vessels that have been stranded in Ukraine for more than six months by the ongoing Russian invasion. Now, the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel has sailed from the port of Odesa bound for Lebanon, loaded with 26,527 tonnes of corn, under a safe passage deal described as a glimmer of hope in a worsening global food crisis.

Reuters reports that the sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertilizer export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has become a drawn-out war of attrition.

Ukraine, known as Europe’s breadbasket, hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now underway, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, to help clear the silos for the new crop.

“This is a glimmer of hope in a worsening food crisis,” a German foreign ministry spokesperson told a government briefing.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying Western sanctions have slowed its exports and accusing Ukraine of laying underwater mines at the entrance of its ports. The Kremlin called the Razoni‘s departure “very positive” news.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped Tuesday’s departure would be the first of many such cargos and that the U.N. would charter a ship to replenish supplies of aid.

“People on the verge of famine need these agreements to work, in order to survive,” Guterres told reporters in New York.