The UK’s Royal Navy will transfer two of its minehunter ships to Ukraine to help the latter reopen "vital export routes" on the Black Sea. The UK and Norway also announced the establishment of a maritime coalition to help Ukraine to create its own navy in the Black Sea and develop a Ukrainian Marine Corps.
If successful, this initiative can resume the maritime traffic of Ukrainian goods (specifically grains) in the Black Sea through the normal corridor*. However, as a result of the Montreux Convention (1936), Turkey has the power to block the access of any foreign military ship in the Black Sea by closing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. After February 2022, Turkey announced it would not grant passage to warships from either side of the conflict into the Black Sea. This will offer Ankara leverage in negotiations with the UK, Norway and other NATO states.
*Ukraine is currently shipping goods via the Black Sea through a “humanitarian corridor” which transits Romania’s territorial waters.
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