How did 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate make it to the Port of Beirut? #TheCube
How the shipment made it to the port and why such dangerous cargo remained there for more than six years, has been central to the questions raised in the aftermath.
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After becoming embroiled in both a legal and financial dispute, the ship never left Beirut's waters and the explosive material was transferred onto land in the port.
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Articles from the Seafarer's Union of Russia detailed the same case, saying that Russian members of the crew had not been paid. The Union, which is affiliated with the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), reported that the crew was concerned about the nature of the cargo.
Euronews contacted Lloyd's List, a Maritime Intelligence agency, to corroborate the reports. They cited a briefing by a Beirut-based law firm who said that the ship was abandoned and detained by the port's state control. This happened "after the charterer and cargo interests lost interest in the consignment of ammonium nitrate," according to Lloyd’s List
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"At some point between the detention and the sinking, some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - an industrial chemical widely used in the manufacture of fertiliser and of both commercial and illicit explosives - were warehoused inside the perimeters of the port," Lloyd's List added.
https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/06/how-did-2-750-tonnes-of-ammonium-nitrate-make-it-to-the-port-of-beirut-thecube
