Ammonium nitrate on board a Russian-linked bulk carrier – the ship will finally be able to unload

The Maltese-flagged cargo ship MV Ruby, carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, recently docked at Great Yarmouth in the UK, a NATO country. How writes Newsweek, the ship began its journey in the northern Russian port of Kandalaksha on August 22 and first tried to reach Las Palmas in the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. After its hull and propeller were damaged in a storm, the ship, built in 2012, was struggling for repairs in several ports across Europe.

However, several European countries, including Sweden, Lithuania and Malta, refused to dock due to concerns about the explosive cargo and the threat of sabotage.

At Great Yarmouth, the damaged bulk carrier will transfer 20,000 tonnes of saltpeter onto another ship bound for Africa before heading into dry dock for repairs.

Ammonium nitrate is a potentially explosive substance used in fertilizers and bombs.

According to Marine Traffic, the vessel’s overall length (LOA) is 183 meters and its beam is 27.8 meters. The amount of cargo on the ship is seven times greater than the amount of cargo that exploded at the port of Beirut in Lebanon in 2020. At least 218 people were killed, and the explosion was caused by about 2,750 tons of the same compound.

According to the publication MV Ruby, it received permission from the British government and the Ministry of Transport to moor at the port of Great Yarmouth. Port Director Richard Goffin assured that the port is capable of handling hazardous cargo and the handling of such chemicals is a common practice within the port group.

The British authorities, together with the management of the Serenity Ship Management DMCC, based in the UAE, are now actively monitoring the vessel.

The vessel’s presence was troubling, particularly because it was at one point anchored approximately 30 miles from the World War II wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, which itself contains a significant amount of unexploded ordnance.

Ruby’s owner and manager said fears about the “floating bomb”, as British media have dubbed it, were unfounded. They also blamed the media for the coverage “negatively affecting the ship’s ability to carry out routine operations to transfer cargo to another ship so it could be repaired.”

They claim that ammonium nitrate in the ship’s current state does not pose any risk to the ship, crew or the environment.