Beirut left in Devastation

It’s likely that you have been made aware of the diminishing explosion that occurred in the port section of Lebanon’s capital-Beirut. A quick thing to mention before I dive fully into this event. I am aware of the fierce reaction from the people in Lebanon displayed through the protests but will make a separate post to cover that, so I can ensure this article results in a digestible amount of writing. Now back to the topic.

The huge blast in Beirut consequently devastated portions of the capital. This blast has been blamed, by the Lebanese Government, on the detonation of ammonium nitrate; which was being stored in the capital’s port at the quantity of 2,750 tonnes. And now, very understandably, people have been communicating messages of disbelief at the fact that without any safety regulations or measures the potentially explosive material was stored in a warehouse for more than 6 years. But so far the government in Lebanon has been yet to put a name to the source of ammonium nitrate. But is it interesting to hear that it’s widely known that in 2013 a cargo ship called the MV Rhosus, which was Moldovan flagged at the time, delivered the exact same amount of the exact same chemical into a warehouse? This vessel was under Russian ownership at the time and had the final destination of Beira, Mozambique. The MV Rhosus began its journey in Batumi, Georgia and while travelling through the Mediterranean Sea (according to a 2015 report which was written by the lawyers representing the crew for an industry newsletter called  Shippingarrested.com) it suffered from ‘technical problems’. However, the Russian captain-Boris Prokoshev- told the BBC that the ship stopped because the owner had financial issues and needed to collect additional cargo in order to fund their travel through the Suez Canal. It turns out that the much-needed cargo proved to be a too heavy load for the ship to handle, and therefore fines were imposed on the owner of the ship. Because of the owner’s absence of funds to pay the fine, it resulted in the cargo and ammonium nitrate being impounded by the Lebanese authorities. Shortly after this event, the Rhosus was ‘abandoned by her owners’, and it was also subject to legal claims from creditors. But unfortunately for the crew, they’re still confined to the vessel and supplies of food are only decreasing. To combat a disastrous ending, lawyers made an application to the Judge of Urgent Matters in Beirut for an order allowing the crew members to return home. The basis of their case was an emphasis on the danger the crew faced due to the nature of the cargo. Fortunately for them, the judge agreed to their demands in early 2014.

Now we know how it got there, we can now discuss how they’re recovering and the necessary aid given. While the Lebanese prime minister resigned and authorities claim 220 died, 5,000 people left injured and 300,000 people left homeless; Emmanuel Macron (the French President) has been leading the call for international aid for the chaos. Just a bit of my own theorising here, but a leader in the western world trying to get in the good books of a middle eastern country, an area known worldwide for its oil richness. Is this an attempt to lay the foundation for some kind of deal or favour, only time will tell.

So far, $298m has been pledged by the international community to support the rebuilding of Beirut. ‘Major resources’ to address the needs of the Lebanese people have been pledged by participants in a virtual summit, Emmanuel Macron was co-host in this along with the UN. The President of the European Commission announced an additional Є33m to be mobilised in aid by the Commission. But also they hoped that they could achieve a boost in trading relations. Longer-term support was discussed in the form of helping rebuild the devastated city by sending experts and specialist machinery. However, the UK has pledged £5m along with many other services, including search and rescue experts, enhanced Lebanese Armed Forces support, and an Emergency Medical Team.

I’m sorry this took so long to write and publish, but I’ve got topics lined up to write about, so hopefully posts will become increasingly regular, but we can only hope.