Seven years of criminal negligence in Beirut
The TLDR: Seven years ago an old cargo ship docked at the port in Beirut. What happened since tells an international tale of corporate greed, bureaucratic carelessness and judicial incompetence. The events that led up to the massive blast in Lebanon are a warning bell for the rest of the world. The very same thing could be happening very close to home.
A quick recap: A powerful explosion rocked the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, killing at least 157 and leaving 5,000 injured. The cause: 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the dock. The result: A massive blast—which struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake—and flattened great parts of the city. It isn’t clear exactly how this highly explosive material went up in flames. But we now know how it got to the warehouse—and why it languished there for years. (See our explainer for more details on the blast)
So what happened in Beirut?
The ship: In 2013, a ship called Rhosus made an unscheduled stop in Beirut. It was traveling from Georgia, Russia to Mozambique. The ship had been leased by a Russian businessman, Igor Grechushkin, who had been paid $1 million to deliver the cargo. The captain, Boris Prokoshev—hastily brought on in Turkey after a crew mutiny—was Russian as well.
The cargo: Rhosus was carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate—which was to be delivered to a company that made commercial explosives. Ammonium nitrate is a synthetic substance and typically used as a source of nitrogen for fertiliser or to create explosives for mining. It's cheap and produced in large quantities.
The diversion to Beirut: The businessman told the captain that he didn’t have the money to pay the required toll at the Suez Canal (shipping lanes have tolls just as highways). So Prokoshev was told to stop instead at Beirut, and pick up some heavy road equipment and deliver it to Jordan. Money from the extra gig would pay the Suez bill. Or that was the plan.
The disaster in Beirut: Once in Beirut, the crew found that the road equipment just wouldn’t fit:
“The crew had stacked the equipment, including excavators and road-rollers, on top of the doors to the cargo hold which held the ammonium nitrate below… But the hold doors buckled.”
The ship was very old and leaking from a small hole in its hull. So the captain refused to take the risk.
Lebanese officials step in: The situation unravelled further when officials impounded the ship—for both being unseaworthy and for not paying docking fees. The businessman, Grechushkin, either disappeared or sued the captain for abandoning the ship. In any case, the due amount went unpaid. Prokoshev and a few crew members were held on the ship for eleven months while the dispute continued.
The warehouse: While port officials took care of the wage-less and stranded sailors, they were indifferent to any safety concerns, according to Prokoshev: “I feel sorry for the people (killed or injured in the blast). But local authorities, the Lebanese, should be punished. They did not care about the cargo at all.”
The captain and his crew were finally released on compassionate grounds in August 2014—which is when the ammonium nitrate was moved to a storage facility known as Hangar 12.
Years of neglect: Ammonium nitrate then languished in that warehouse—becoming more volatile with each passing year. According to BBC News:
“On its own, ammonium nitrate is relatively safe to handle, says Professor Sella. However, if you have a large amount of material lying around for a long time it begins to decay. ‘The real problem is that over time it will absorb little bits of moisture and it eventually turns into an enormous rock,’ he says. This makes it more dangerous because if a fire reaches it, the chemical reaction will be much more intense.”
The lax judiciary: Port officials say they repeatedly sent letters to the judiciary asking to remove the ammonium nitrate—but received no response. One official told the New York Times: “We were told the cargo would be sold in an auction. But the auction never happened and the judiciary never acted.”
The explosion: As we noted, officials still don’t know the immediate cause.
And this can happen here? In India?
After the story of the Beirut blast broke, a Tamil Nadu politician warned of a “risk of a similar explosion” in Chennai. He was referring to 740 tons of ammonium nitrate that is presently lying in a Chennai port Customs warehouse since September 2015.
The 35 containers were confiscated from Sri Amman Chemicals because it did not have the appropriate import license. More alarmingly, when the company contested the decision in the Madras High Court, the court noted a scary fact gleaned from police records: over four years since 2013, nearly 16,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has gone missing!
What’s happening with these containers?
Chennai officials have inspected the warehouse and insist “everything is correct.” A customs official told Indian Express:
“The seized cargo is securely stored and safety of the cargo and the public is ensured considering the hazardous nature of the cargo…the disposal of the said cargo will be done within a short period, following all safety measures.”
The bottomline: We don’t need evil people. Mere incompetence can wreak as great misery.
The reading list
New York Times has the most details, and Reuters did a good follow up on what happened at the port. BBC News reports on the rising rage against the government in Lebanon. Al Jazeera reports on how French President Emmanuel Macron—who arrived in Beirut to offer support—has emerged as a source of hope. Also watch: Macron speaking to eager residents. Indian Express has the most details on the Chennai shipment.