The Rotterdam city council is concerned about ships with large quantities of ammonium nitrate that regularly call at the port. Ammonium nitrate is the substance of which 2750 tons in August exploded in the port of Beirut. At least 190 people were killed.
Several dozen ships with a large cargo of ammonium nitrate moor in Rotterdam every year. According to experts that News hour The chance of an accident or attack is very small here, but not zero.
‘Explosion would exceed 1940 bombing’
The South Holland Member of Parliament Robert Klumpes (GroenLinks) heard through a whistleblower that a ship with 7,000 tons of ammonium nitrate had been moored in the harbor at the end of August. He sounded the alarm at the city council, the Lower House and the Provincial Council. “You shouldn’t want a ship with such a cargo. If a ship like that explodes in Rotterdam, it surpasses images of the 1940 bombing.”
In a letter to the House, State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (Infrastructure and Water Management) writes that the ammonium nitrate on this ship, the Ditlev Reefer, had no explosive properties. “In order to give ammonium nitrate explosive properties, the substance properties must be changed, for example by adding external substances and adding an ignition mechanism.”
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‘Fire can cause an explosion’
Basically, ammonium nitrate is indeed not an explosive substance, says professor of safety and hazardous materials Genserik Reniers. “But it can still explode as a result of an external effect, such as a fire on or next to the ship.”
In addition, terrorists could use the ship to carry out an attack. Ad van Riel, director of explosives education center REASeuro, says that it is not very complicated to blow up such a ship. “We could and if we can, terrorists too.”
“The impact of such an explosion is catastrophic,” says Reniers. “If you want to know what the consequences could be, look at Beirut. Those are images that show a war zone. The 7,000 tons on this ship is more than double that of Beirut.”
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Such an explosion could explode the city. Why should we be so at risk?
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The port of Rotterdam controls about ten percent of the ships that visit the city, says harbor master René de Vries. “Then we assess whether the ship may come or not. The ship Ditlev Reefer had a lot of ammonium nitrate, so we checked it.”
International regulations and the Port Ordinance apply to the transport of ammonium nitrate. This determines which substances are considered dangerous by the port of Rotterdam. These ships are given a special berth. “For example, a tanker with petrol may only be located in the Europoort area, not too close to the city. There are no restrictions for this type of ammonium nitrate,” says de Vries.
Van Riel believes that the risks of fire and attacks should be included in the decision to have ships moored close to the city. “You have to look at risk times effect. If the risk is zero, the effect does not matter, but in this case the risk is not zero and the effect is gigantic.” He can imagine that ships with ammonium nitrate could be in a safer place.
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Concerns in city council
Member of Parliament Klumpes believes that the city council should take action quickly. “Such an explosion can explode the city. Why should we be so at risk?”
Harbor Master De Vries sees no reason to adjust the rules at the moment. According to him, the inspection is professional and the safety regulations are strict. “Ammonium nitrate must not be stored with fuel in cargo ships and the hold must be openable.”
The municipality of Rotterdam also supports the current rules. But a majority in the city council is concerned about the issue. Liveable Rotterdam will request a debate tomorrow.
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