Two vessels from Mariupol brought to Beirut grain. They go under the flag of Sierra Leone and the Comoros
At the moment of powerful explosion in the port of Beirut (Lebanon) were two ships with cargo from Ukraine, said on 5 August “NV Business” Executive Director of the Mariupol investment group Oleg Ivanyushenko.
“One ship – Raouf H , our customers, the other was loaded at the port [of Mariupol]”, – said Ivanisenko.
According to him, both vessels carrying grain.
Mero Star sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, Raouf H – under the flag of Comoros.
The administration of Mariupol sea port on 15 July reported on the website about the beginning of the export of grain and published photos of the vessel Mero Star, which was loaded 5 thousand tons of grain.
On the eve of the co-founder of the service vessel tracking TankerTrackers Samir Madani said that in the port of Beirut blast may have damaged five ships: Mero Star, 20 Baltagi, Raouf H, Baltagi and 19 Dps Tramontane. As reported on the VesselFinder website that tracks marine traffic in real time, in mid-July, Mero Star and Raouf H came to Mariupol, and then through the Kerch Strait and the Bosphorus bridge went to Lebanon.
A powerful explosion in the port of Beirut occurred on the evening of 4 August. Close to the port areas of Lebanon’s capital damaged or destroyed many buildings. The explosion was of such force that it felt even residents of the capital Nicosia, which is located almost 200 km from Beirut, and wrotegentstvo Reuters with reference to eyewitnesses. The television channel Al Jazeera reported that the blast the cars threw him into the roof of the plant about three floors.
According to recent reports, killed 135 people, about 5,000 people were injured, dozens are still missing. Among the victims, according to the Ukrainian Embassy, there are citizens of Ukraine, they have minor injuries.
The Governor of the Lebanese capital, Marwan Abboud said that the explosion left homeless and up to 300 thousand people. He estimated the damage from the occurrence, at $3-5 billion.
According to preliminary information, the explosion occurred in a warehouse of ammonium nitrate after the fire, caused by welding operations.
According to Reuters, Lebanese officials ignored the proposals of customs to re-export or sale 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate seized from the vessel Rhosus in the port of Beirut. As told the interlocutor of the Agency, a team of inspectors warned that if nitrate is not taken out, “the could take the whole Beirut”.
The ship Rhosus is owned by Russian businessman Igor Grechushkina. In 2014, it transported the ammonium nitrate in one of the African countries, but because of debts the cargo was confiscated in Beirut.
