Bankruptcy left port sitting on a time bomb
THE timer was ticking from six years ago, when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate were taken from an impounded ship and stored in the port of Beirut.
It was a massive bomb just waiting to go off; a disaster equivalent to a 3.5 magnitude earthquake.
And all because Igor Grechushkin, the Russian owner of the Rhosus ship, carrying the deadly cargo from Georgia to Mozambique, declared bankruptcy on an unscheduled stop seven years ago. It left the port authorities of Beirut with a big problem.
The cargo was transferred to a warehouse in 2014. Reuters reported yesterday that officials in Beirut had asked for judicial assistance in selling on the Rhosus’s cargo, and had sent several letters asking for action. One source close to a port employee said a team that inspected the material six months ago warned it could “blow up all of Beirut” if not removed.
Ammonium nitrate, used in farming as a fertiliser, was the explosive of choice for the IRA. The bombings at the Baltic Exchange and Bishopsgate in the City of London in 1992 and 1993, and the blast at South Quay in February 1996 were fuelled by it. The most potent of those devices was just one fivethousandth of the size of the Beirut blast.
Ammonium nitrate can be safely stored. It is stable, under the right conditions. There are international protocols on how much can be held, where, and under what security precautions.
But leaving it dumped in one place and in such quantity was always likely to end badly, said Stewart Walker, an associate professor in forensic, environmental and analytical chemistry at Flinders University in South Australia.
Philip Ingram, an explosives expert and former military intelligence officer, said: “Ammonium nitrate can degrade over time, all the more so if it is stored badly.
“If it starts to degrade, it gives off heat, and that tends to self-perpetuate. Pressure builds.”
All it needs then is an appropriate spark. It came when a welder was making repairs to the warehouse. It is suspected that the building contained fireworks.
When the explosion ripped through the port, the firefighters trying to contain the initial blaze were incinerated.
Video footage of the initial blaze shows a fire with white smoke. Then, there is a major blast, orange and brown in colour and consistent with nitrous dioxide, given off when ammonium nitrate explodes.
And finally there is a massive white mushroom cloud, which evoked comparisons with Hiroshima.
According to Mr Ingram, it is water condensation, common in massive explosions in humid climates, and then the explosion’s shock waves spread out across the city.
He explained: “There are two effects: blowing and sucking. The over-pressure wave blows everything over in its way, and then there’s a big following dip in pressure. That sucks everything back in.
“Floors rise on the over-pressure wave, and fall on the under-pressure, and it explains why high rise buildings can collapse.”
And the effect on people close to the blast?
“As the over-pressure wave passes over, the individual would feel the air being sucked from his lungs,” Mr Ingram said. “And if very close, it is possible that their organs would explode.
“But most casualties will have been hit by falling buildings or debris, and glass and shrapnel are responsible for such a massive toll of injuries.”
Ammonium nitrate is also a component in mining explosives. Mozambique, where the Rhosus was bound, has significant mineral and mining industries.