Arrest warrants over Beirut blast

The lead investigator into the August blast at Beirut’s port issued two arrest warrants yesterday for the captain and owner of a ship that carried thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate to Beirut seven years ago, the state- run National News Agency said. More than 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrates stored at Beirut’s port exploded on August 4, killing 193, wounding about 6500 and causing damage worth billions of dollars. NNA did not give the names of the two men but Boris Prokoshev was the captain who sailed the MV Rhosus from Turkey to Beirut in 2013. Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman residing in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, bought the cargo ship in 2012.