At the mercy of the waves, with its hull, propeller and rudder seriously damaged and carrying a highly explosive cargo of ammonium nitrate. There is growing concern over the fate of the bulk carrier
The Ruby, a Malta-flagged ship, built in 2012, had left the Norwegian port of Tromso 16 days ago when its engines suddenly lost power, making it difficult for the captain to manoeuvre.
Since September 18th, the bulk carrier has been proceeding at a speed of 5 knots off Stavanger, escorted by a Dutch ship and a Norwegian patrol vessel. Norway immediately established a 500-meter safety zone around the ship originally bound for the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
Lloyds List reports that the ship is carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, i.e. 7 times the amount of cargo that led to the explosion in Beirut harbor in August 2020, killing 218 people and injuring 7,000 others.
The main explosion had been linked to the detonation of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated in 2014 by the Lebanese government from the abandoned MV Rhosus and stored in the port without safety measures.
Translation by Giles Foster