The chemicals that went up in flames in Beirut’s deadliest peacetime explosion arrived in the Lebanese capital seven years ago on a leaky Russian-leased cargo ship that, according to its captain, should never have stopped there. “They were being greedy,” said Boris Prokoshev, who was captain of the Rhosus in 2013 when he says the owner told him to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to pick up extra cargo.
Prokoshev said the ship was carrying 2,750 tonnes of a highly combustible chemical from Georgia to Mozambique when the order came to divert to Beirut on its way through the Mediterranean.
The crew were asked to load some heavy road equipment and take it to Jordan’s Port of Aqaba before resuming their journey onto Africa, where the ammonium nitrate was to be delivered to an explosives manufacturer. But the ship was never to leave Beirut, having tried and failed to safely load the additional cargo before becoming embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute over port fees.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the newspaper
Why Pak New Map Is A Sham
Pakistan’s move comes exactly a year after India scrapped Art 370
‘Forget Cash Reward'
Wrestler Divya’s father narrates humiliation he and his daughter faced for questioning Delhi CM Kejriwal
BJP Sends Its 20 MLAs To Gujarat Ahead Of Trust Vote
The BJP has hit out at the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan claiming that moral and immoral means were being used in an attempt to induce BJP MLAs before the assembly session which convenes on August 14.
Gamers In Delhi Easy Prey For Cybercon
Crooks make fake profiles to lure young addicts into buying gaming points, steal money with debit card & e-wallet details
Men WHO Braved Odds To Save Lives
Kozhikode Plane Crash
Pak Maintain Firm Grip
Bundle out England for 219 to open 127-run lead on Day 3
Virus Wreaks Havoc In U.S. As 2,060 Die In Single Day
Europe remains the hardest-hit region globally with 200K deaths
Why Chennai Fears Abeirut Redux
Presence of 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at Sattva freight station raises safety concerns
Beirut's Accidental Cargo
An unscheduled stop to pick up extra cargo led to the disaster
Gates Backs Poonawalla With $150 Mn War Chest
Virus vaccine to be rolled out in early 2021
LES CAVES DU ROY
The glamour of the ’60s pervades Saint-Tropez’s sexiest and most storied nightclub
When The State Is Absent
A year after Beirut’s devastating port blast, the government is AWOL— so the people have stepped in to rebuild
Beirut – After The Blast
Last summer’s explosion in Beirut killed hundreds of people and damaged much of the city. My efforts to repair my apartment reveal a lot about how Lebanon works—and doesn’t.
We must go on,' says Lebanese Designer Elie Saab after blast
'We must go on,' says Lebanese designer Elie Saab after blast
When Worst Gets Worse
The blast in Beirut laid bare the wreckage from decades of sectarian politics
Lebanon goes to the polls with little expectation of toppling sectarian leaders
Civil society candidates lined up against an entrenched ruling elite with pledges to change a political landscape in which feudal lords and their networks have enriched themselves since the end of the civil war.
Under pressure!
Dalby is in a precarious position as he and the team go to Beirut...
BEIRUT BLAST The mothers fighting for justice
When a catastrophic ammonium nitrate explosion ripped through Beirut in August 2020, it killed more than 200 people, including 10 children. Sarah Copland’s son Isaac was one of them. Here, she writes about the mothers who are united in their anguish and quest for answers
Elie Saab is back …full of bright ideas
LEBANESE designer Elie Saab returned to the runway in Paris after a two-year absence with a couture show inspired by the Mediterranean.
Mesa para dos
Estos son los lugares en los que triunfar con tu cita romántica este san valentín. Çya sea un encuentro a ciegas o un esperado 'rendez-vous', ¡conquistarás!