ONE week on from the blast that destroyed a large part of the city, Beirut’s containers terminal was able to resume operations on Monday.

The 2,670 teu Electra A, owned and operated by Turkish operator Arkas, had been sitting at the Beirut anchorage for two days. It has since left and is en route to Iskenderun.

It was followed by the CMA CGM-operated 2,226 teu Nicolas Delmas. It called directly from Alexandria after apparently diverting to Tripoli, then diverting back to Beirut before discharging. It remains alongside this morning, according to AIS data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Customs clearing agents were briefly allowed to enter Beirut’s container terminal but were then asked to leave by the army. Local Lloyd’s agent Jamil Sayegh said agents would be allowed in again today to recommence cargo clearance formalities.

Details of at least six vessels damaged in the explosion have been reported by Lloyd’s List, including the passengership Orient Queen, which listed severely to starboard in the port and is lying sunk on its starboard side.

The vessel was moored directly opposite to warehouse No 12 where the explosion originated. The crew said it was lifted by a wave surge of about six metres, consequently slamming down on the quay on its starboard side, leading to flooding.

Two crew members are confirmed dead, but the vessel had no cargo or passengers on board. The vessel caused severe pollution in the port.

Raouf H was discharging its cargo of 5,500 tonnes of wheat on berth 9 at the time of the explosion. The accommodation and bridge were destroyed, and the lattice booms of the silo conveyor fell into the hold. Two crew members are confirmed dead, with three still missing.

Mero Star, carrying a cargo of wheat, started to take in water in the engine room. Pumps remain in operation. All crew were reportedly injured in the blast and hospitalised. Presently the ship is alongside with no crew.

Also caught up in the explosion were the livestock carrier Jouri, which sustained severe damage to the interior, the bunker barge Amadeo III, which was lifted out of the water on to the quay, and Abu Karim 1, which had been under arrest for several years because of financial issues and capsized on the quay.

Combined losses to the hull, cargo and port facility market arising from the Beirut explosion “should be within $250m”, according to an estimate by broker Guy Carpenter.

Ammonium nitrate

A seven-year-old consignment of some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which was warehoused in a building at the port, remains the most likely source of the explosion. The cargo is thought to have emanated from Moldova-flagged bulk carrier Rhosus in 2013, which was forced to divert to Beirut after developing technical problems while en route from Batumi in Georgia to Beira in Mozambique.

Shipping and ports handle vast quantities of ammonium nitrate, used in the production of fertilisers and explosives, each year with an excellent safety record, but a chemical industry source speaking with Lloyd’s List has suggested that there could be an increased reluctance on the part of shipowners to carry cargoes following the Beirut explosion.

The precedent on which he is basing the prediction is the Spiliada judgment handed down by the House of Lords in 1986, which centred on damage caused to two vessels by a consignment of wet sulphur.

The claim was disallowed, largely on grounds of jurisdiction and so-called ‘forum conveniens test’.

But the reaction in the market was predictable; greater reluctance of owners to carry sulphur and, consequently, higher rates for those prepared to do so.

In addition, the source expected increased insurance premiums for the carriage and storage of ammonium nitrate.

Lloyd’s List also reported this week that there is no binding international framework for the safe storage of the chemical on land. This is a factor that will almost certainly complicate any efforts to determine liability for the explosion in Beirut, according to a lawyer who has worked on similar cases.

The inevitable flurry of legal action will likely be based heavily on Lebanese domestic law, including provisions for negligence and potentially even manslaughter, he added.

Other experts pointed out that parcels of ammonium nitrate are routinely stored in quantities of up to 20,000 tonnes or so, many times greater than the 2,750 tonnes thought to have been responsible for the August 4 blast, although it should be stressed it is perfectly safe if stored correctly.

Of more immediate concern in Beirut is that chemical experts from France and Italy, working with local firefighters, have identified at least 20 potentially dangerous chemical containers at the port and are working to make them secure. At least one is said to be leaking, according to Associated Press, which cited a French source.

The governor of Beirut has estimated the economic impact of the blasts in the region of $10bn to $15bn.

The blast is known to have killed at least 163 people and injured 6,000, as well as destroying 6,000 buildings, leaving 200,000 homeless. The port is also vital to the country’s economy with the majority of food and goods supplies imported through it each year.

The port’s container terminal handled 1.2m teu in 2019 and will struggle to replace that capacity at alternative ports such as Tripoli. Lebanon also typically imports 1.2m tonnes of wheat and 900,000 tonnes of corn each year, with grain handling facilities destroyed in the explosion.

With much of the country already suffering badly economically even before the blast, the import of food and essential emergency supplies is now critical and alternative port options will also need to be found as the port is reconstructed.