The ship is carrying the very substance that caused the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020.
Norway, Denmark and Sweden have refused to accept the damaged General Cargo Ruby ship under the Maltese flag, which is in the Baltic Sea with a cargo of ammonia, for emergency repairs saltpeter.
DW writes about this.
“On the evening of September 20, German services noticed a cargo ship with explosive chemical fertilizers in the territorial waters of Germany, towed in the Baltic Sea,” the publication writes, citing a representative of the federal police department in Bad Bramstedt.
It is known that almost a month ago the ship took on board a cargo of fertilizers in the Russian port of Kandalaksha in the Murmansk region.
“On board the 183-meter vessel are 20 thousand tons of explosive ammonium nitrate. That is, the very substance that, for example, caused a devastating explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020,” the publication notes.
According to Norwegian authorities, the General Cargo Ruby ran aground a few hours after loading. Reports of damage to the ship were registered by the country's shipping authority.
“The shipping company informed us that the ship's hull and propeller were damaged, and some water got into it,” said Dag Inge Aarhus, a representative of the Norwegian shipping authority.
However, the Norwegian port of Tromso refused to allow the ship to dock and undergo repairs due to the “danger to cities.”
“The ship needs to be repaired, but that's impossible so close to the city. The cargo isn't dangerous as long as it's just lying there. But external influences, such as repair work on the ship, can pose a significant risk,” Aarhus explained.
The team has not yet found a port to repair the ship.
Recall that on August 4, 2020, two powerful explosions thundered in the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut, forming a mushroom cloud over the city. According to the Lebanese government, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port, which had been stored in a warehouse for six years without the necessary safety measures.
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