(Reuters) — A number of insurance underwriters are interested in providing cover for grain shipments from Ukraine after an agreement was reached to re-open Black Sea ports, although the first shipments are expected to be weeks away, industry sources said Friday.

Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal Friday to reopen the ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased. The accord crowned two months of talks brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, a NATO member that has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine and controls the straits leading into the Black Sea. 

Securing shipping and insurance will be a crucial part of the process ahead.

“There are a number of underwriters who have expressed an interest in writing this risk and one or two brokers also. It may well be a consortium that is formed,” Neil Roberts, head of marine and aviation with the Lloyd’s Market Association, told Reuters.

“A number of things are still to be resolved and underwriters will need to assess voyages individually,” said  Mr. Roberts, whose association represents the interests of all underwriting businesses in the Lloyd’s of London insurance market.

Ukraine's ports have been closed since Russia's invasion in February, which Moscow calls a "special military operation," and not enough is known about the condition of the ports as well as risks such as floating mines and damaged ships in port areas.

“Shipowners will need some form of financial assurance. So at least the first few voyages need to prove that the routes are safe,” a shipping industry official said.

The initial problem is that there are over 80 ships stuck in Ukraine, many with cargoes onboard including grain, which need to get out before new ships can go in, sources said.

The LMA has placed Ukrainian waters on their high-risk zone and any sailings need to get approval from underwriters, who are waiting for more detail on the specifics of how the agreement will work.

A blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia's Black Sea fleet, trapping tens of millions of tons of grain in silos and stranding many ships, has worsened global supply chain bottlenecks, and along with sweeping Western sanctions, stoked galloping inflation in food and energy prices around the world.