MV Rhosus

2013

Beirut, 2,750 tonnes ammonium nitrate, seven years Location: Port of Beirut, Lebanon · Coordinates: 33.90°N 35.52°E · Casualties: 218 · Survivors: N/A · Depth: scuttled in harbour 2018 · Cause: abandoned · cargo detonated 2020 — Abandoned in Beirut port after an unscheduled 2013 stop when her owner declared her insolvent. 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the cargo she had been carrying from Georgia to Mozambique, was unloaded into Hangar 12. The cargo detonated on 4 August 2020. · Fate: scuttled 2018 · cargo detonated 2020 · Type: cargo ship · Moldovan flag · Tonnage: 3,351 tons · Crew: 10 · Flag: Moldova · Launched: 1986 Moldovan-flagged cargo ship, hauling 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate from Batumi to Beira. Put into Beirut in November 2013 for a forbidden cargo top-up; her owner declared insolvency. The cargo was unloaded into Port of Beirut Hangar 12 by court order; the ship herself sank in the harbour in 2018. The ammonium nitrate detonated on 4 August 2020 in the third-largest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded, killing 218 in the port-side districts of Beirut. The Vessel The MV Rhosus was a Moldovan-flagged general cargo ship, built at the 3 Maj Shipyard at Rijeka, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) in 1986. She was 86 metres long, 1,793 gross tons, and powered by a diesel engine producing approximately 1,200 horsepower. Her specific design was an aging general cargo ship typical of the former Yugoslav and Soviet merchant marine. Her specific ownership and operational history by 2013 was substantially complex. She had been owned by multiple operators through her operational life; by 2013, she was owned by the Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin through a Panama shell corporation; she was under Moldovan registry; and she was operated under complex charter arrangements typical of the late-2000s Eastern European tramp shipping market. The specific maintenance condition of the ship by 2013 was substantially deteriorated. Her operational safety standards had been progressively compromised; her crew payments had been irregular; her commercial viability was marginal. Her master on her final voyage was Captain Boris Prokoshev, 56, a Russian merchant marine officer. Her complement on 23 September 2013 was 10 crew: 5 Ukrainian and 5 Russian merchant marine personnel. The Disaster The immediate situation after the abandonment was substantially problematic. The 10 crew members remained aboard the detained ship for approximately 11 months (through October 2014) in substantially inadequate conditions. The specific Russian and Ukrainian consular authorities eventually negotiated the crew's repatriation. The ship itself remained at the Beirut port. The specific legal and operational responsibility for her cargo was substantially unresolved. The specific Lebanese port authorities, maritime agents, and various private contractors eventually transferred the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate cargo from the ship to Warehouse 12 at the Beirut port. The Rhosus was subsequently scrapped at Beirut (sometime between 2014 and 2017); however, the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate cargo remained in Warehouse 12 at Beirut for approximately 6-7 years. The specific storage conditions in Warehouse 12 were substantially inadequate. The specific ammonium nitrate was stored without proper ventilation, without temperature control, without adequate segregation from other combustible materials, and without systematic inspection. On 4 August 2020, at approximately 18:07 local time, a fire broke out in Warehouse 12 at the Beirut port. The specific ignition source is not fully established. At approximately 18:08, the specific 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated catastrophically. The specific Beirut explosion of 4 August 2020 was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in hist