After Beirut blasts: Lessons on Dangerous Cargo

The resulting explosion tore through the city, destroyed almost all surrounding buildings, and registered a force as strong as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake. The incident in Beirut is not a one off as dangerous cargo continues to be shipped under loose regulations. In such a case, what happened in Beirut could occur anywhere else in the world. If such an incident were to take place at crucial maritime shipping lanes like in the Malacca straits or the Gulf of Aden, the consequences would be devastating for both maritime traffic as well as neighbouring states. It is therefore imperative that certain regulations are re-assessed, because even though most crucial ports are safer than Beirut, dangerous cargos present a constant risk – no matter the location.

The dangers of mishandled or inadequately stored hazardous material are not new to ports around the world. Lebanon may have faced the latest incident but even highly developed states, like the United States, have faced similar scenarios. In 1947, an explosion in the port of Texas City destroyed hundreds of nearby buildings and killed around 450 people. A similar incident also occurred in Germany in 1921 where 561 people were killed. A recent report by the US National Cargo Bureau stated that nearly 55% of all containers worldwide were non-compliant with transportation and handling norms. This has resulted in a major fire on a containership almost every 60 days. With containerships increasing in size and transportation capacity, the NCB also states that “risks are increasing in number, value and concentration”. These risks could easily result in another devastating explosion after Lebanon. As recently as 2015, the detonation of some 800 tonnes of ammonium nitrate killed 173 people in the port of Tianjin in China. At Tianjin, the fires caused by the initial explosions continued to burn uncontrollably for two days, resulting in eight more explosions which injured hundreds.

Currently, there are vast stores of ammonium nitrate across the world that may or may not be stored in proper conditions. The chemical is widely used for fertilizers or for the making of explosives for mining purposes and concerns about its storage have increased significantly post the blast at Beirut. While it does not burn on its own, the chemical acts as a catalyst which can accelerate combustion, a most probable explanation for the instances highlighted above. It is highly likely that a fire in the vicinity of the stored ammonium nitrate caused the destruction in Beirut as well, just as it did in China. The main cause of concern though, lies in the fact that so much of the material was stored in a port warehouse and neglected for more than five years. However, ammonium nitrate is but one in several other cargos that can be potentially dangerous. At Tianjin in 2015 for example, along with the ammonium nitrate, 40 other chemicals, including 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide and 500 tonnes of potassium nitrate were also found at the blast site. If any of these materials are not transported properly, not stored adequately or left aboard an abandoned ship, they could result in unwanted consequences.

International regulation on shipment of such dangerous goods comes in the form of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) issued by the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency under the UN. According to the IMDG, wide range of dangerous cargo is monitored for and is arranged under nine different classifications. Classification 1 is for explosives which can pose either a high explosive risk or low explosive risk; 2 is for gaseous material that are either highly inflammable or not flammable; 3 for liquids that are inflammable; 4 for solids which are highly combustible, self-reactive or could be potentially hazardous when in contact with other substances; 5 for substances that have the chances of oxidation; 6 for all kinds of substances that are toxic; 7 is specifically for materials that are radioactive; 8 for materials that corrode easily and; 9 is for those substances that cannot be classified in the above categories but are still dangerous and hazardous.

This classification system is difficult to monitor and implement on a consistent level, as has been repeatedly highlighted by agencies across the world like the US National Cargo Bureau. According to reports by the bureau, there is an “alarming level of mis-declared and non-compliant dangerous cargo in container shipments, with more than half of containers non-compliant and more than 6% of containers carrying dangerous cargo mis-declared”. This is partly due to inadequate training of both shore and crew-based personnel. In Malaysia, an Admiralty court found that in the case of Ing Hua Fu, the shipper had declared substances which are classified as hazardous in the IMDG Code, as mere agrochemicals. This mis-declaration resulted in a fire on board the Ing Hua Fu carrier which was followed by an explosion. While the carrier later sued the shipper for negligence bailment and breach, the damage had already been done. This is a clear indication of how regulation has been weak and hazardous substances frequently slip through the cracks or are dealt with improperly.

The consequences of weak regulation are very clear in India as well, where reports have shown how nearly 740 tonnes of the ammonium nitrate were stored in storage containers less than a kilometre away from Chennai. The consignment was imported from South Korea in 2015 by a company claiming to have done so for agricultural purposes. However, once it was denied customs clearances and an investigation into the matter was carried out, it was found that the company had imported the substance under an invalid licence and had been selling it to “unidentified private individuals”; a security threat in its own regard. Recent reports show that while a small amount was damaged in the floods of 2015, a majority has been auctioned and transported to Telangana. Nonetheless, large quantities stored in Vishakhapatnam on India’s east coast are still a cause for rising concern. Nearly 19,000 tonnes of the compound are stored in private facilities, where, the government has ensured, they are fully monitored. However, following the incident in Beirut, the former energy secretary EAS Sarma, has moved to implement stricter regulations in Vizag port as well. In a statement the former secretary stated that he was “not sure if the private firms concerned have emergency plans approved by the authorities to deal with emergencies, and added that it would be dangerous if an accident takes place in Visakhapatnam, as there are hazardous industries and residential colonies nearby.”

Similarly, in Yemen, reports have surfaced showing roughly 4900 tonnes of ammonium nitrate being abandoned in the port of Aden over the past few years. Taking cognizance of the potentially hazardous consequences of the same, Yemen’s attorney general has ordered a probe into the reports as such amounts of ammonium nitrate in the wrong hands could be a significant threat, especially in a country which is embroiled in conflict. According to reports earlier this year, the Yemeni coast guard also seized a ship carrying around 20 tonnes of urea fertilizer, another material used in the making of bombs worldwide. This illegal shipment was apparently en route to Houthi controlled territories in the north of the country. While such substances therefore pose as a risk in India, Yemen and Lebanon, where regulation and monitoring are low, it could also pose as a threat to highly developed countries with stricter regulatory norms as well. Large stockpiles of the substance are currently being kept in warehouses across Australia, the United States and also in many ports of the United Kingdom. It is important to acknowledge that none of these countries are immune to the kind of destruction that such cargo can cause.

Ship abandonment, as was the case of the MV Rhosus in Lebanon, is compounded by issues of potential “floating bombs”, like the FSO Safer, a tanker abandoned off the coast of Yemen. The Safer, a floating oil facility, was abandoned after its owner, a Yemeni oil company, ceased operations due to the civil war. The United Nations and a number of other experts have warned for years that the 1188-foot rusting tanker, with roughly 48 million gallons of oil, could cause an ecological crisis that would affect the entire region. According to UN reports, seawater is already seeping into the vessel and there are chances of an oil spill if any of its tanks rupture. The devastation caused by this could prove to be worse than the events that played out in Lebanon, as it would affect the lives of Yemen’s 28 million people, endanger a large amount of marine life, and disrupt critical shipping lanes through the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Suez Canal. 

Such possibilities highlight another problem with highly destabilising effects; that of old ships and oil spills. Just as the Rhosus was forcefully grounded due to “significant deficiencies” and the Safer lies rusting off the coast of Yemen, so also a number of other potentially hazardous vessels still traverse the oceans. While many ships have circumvented maritime regulations and knowingly continued to sail with weak hulls or other deficiencies, others need re-inspections and further evaluations. Many old ships that are not fit for sailing continue to do so and could be the cause of a future disaster. While it is acknowledged that accidents can happen under any circumstances, stricter regulations of vessels can still reduce the possibilities of unwanted risk. Today, the Mauritius is reeling from the oil spilled by the Japanese owned ship, MV Wakashio which ran aground on a reef while on the way from China to Brazil on the 25^th of July. According to reports, the ship was carrying around 3800 tonnes of very low sulphur fuel oil, of which around 1180 tonnes have leaked into the ocean. Such accidents can thus not only pose threats to shipping lanes but more importantly, to human security and the environment. An increase in the number of commercial ships now on the seas has also meant that the chances of spills and accidents have also increased; a possible precursor to widespread ecological disaster.

In addition to this, the wider humanitarian consequences of ship mismanagement or abandonment are also manifold. On the MV Rhosus for example, while a majority of the ship’s crew were repatriated, the captain and a few others were forced to remain with the ship. Immigration regulations and failures to contact the owner of the ship meant that the crew were forced to live on the ship for nearly 11 months in inhumane conditions. However, this is only one instance that has been highlighted here and the abandonment of both ship and seafarer has now become a common occurrence. According to reports by the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour organization, nearly 5000 crew members have been abandoned on their vessels between 2004 and 2018 in around 400 separate incidents. According to the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents, among the increasing number of seafarers being abandoned on vessels, are people from poor countries. This is symbolic because once a ship and its crew are abandoned; these people are left with inadequate capacity or political will that will come to their assistance.

The maritime arena is thus plagued by issues with potentially far reaching consequences; the explosion of dangerous cargo being just one of them. The explosion in the Beirut port has since garnered worldwide coverage and perhaps, this kind of attention would help compel national and international regulators to strengthen their grip on the maritime cargo industry. Thus, it is imperative that both countries and the global shipping industry reassess the regulation of hazardous material like ammonium nitrate as well as ship abandonment; two of the prime causes behind the blast at Lebanon. The events at Lebanon were a product of negligence, lapse in regulation and lack of monitoring mechanisms. Even repeated admonitions from Lawyers and human rights activists to the government in 2015 and 2017 did not result in an inspection or an assessment of the situation. Today, the government has had to resign due these lapses; just as Lebanon’s citizens bear the brunt of the crisis. Dangerous cargo can thus prove to be highly destabilizing in many regards, a fact that countries and companies alike have to take cognizance of.

Pic courtesy-Reuters

(The views expressed are personal.)