Today the UN reported that The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as828 millionin 2021, an increase of about46 millionsince 2020 and150 millionsince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. These numbers are from before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now the food situation is far grimmer.
Inflation was running hot even before Russia invaded Ukraine, but disruption in Europe’s bread basket —Russia and Ukraine account for 13 percent and 8.5 percent of the world’s wheat exports, respectively—certainly hasn’t helped matters and there are now plenty of warnings that a global food shortage could be looming. Even if the normal cycle of sowing crops and harvesting themcan keep going uninterrupted in Ukraine, wheat exports would still need to get out of the country.
“95 of all international trade moves by sea,” retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis told Bloomberg. “Grain of course is a commodity that moves out in massive quantities and so the idea of trying truck it out or even train it out of Ukraine just doesn’t work.”
Former NATO Commander: We Need to Open the Seas to Ukraine via @YouTube
— Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Ret. (@stavridisj) June 28, 2022
With Russia blockading the BlackSea, this seems like a major challenge. The problem is even greater considering that most of the major military players helping Ukraine right now are all Army officers (Secretary of Defense – retired US ARMY General Lloyd J. Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff – US ARMY General Mark A. Milley, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe – US ARMY General Christopher Cavoli, and White House Port Envoy – retired US ARMY General Stephen Lyons) with limited knowledge of commercial shipping or the Black Sea.
If we are going to avoid famine we need a dedicated Black Sea maritime task force similar to what NATO created to prevent piracy off Africa. And we are going to need a plan created by someone who understands commercial shipping, Russia, NATO, and the Black Sea.
In this episode ofBloomberg’s Odd Lots – Admiral James Stavridis – who was NATO Supreme Allied Commander when NATO created an anti-piracy task force to protect shipping – presentsone idea to get Ukrainian grains out and to the rest of the world. He suggests reaching back to a military playbook last used in the Tanker Warbetween Iraq and Iran.
