ISTANBUL — 

Inspectors on Wednesday boarded the first cargo ship to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor, after the vessel anchored off Istanbul.

Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations officials are checking that the grain shipment conforms to an agreement signed last month by Moscow and Kyiv to unblock Ukraine’s agricultural exports and ease the global food crisis.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which the U.N. says is carrying 26,527 tons of corn, set sail Monday from Odesa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. Its final destination is Lebanon.

The ship anchored Wednesday near the mouth of the Bosphorus Straits that connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and on to the Aegean Sea. 

Inspectors, some wearing white helmets, headed out to the ship under rain in two boats, escorted by the Turkish coast guard. Turkish media said there were about 20 inspectors.

The checks aim to ensure that incoming vessels are not carrying weapons and that outgoing ones are bearing only grain, fertilizer or related food items, not any other commodities.

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. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

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