The MV Ruby, a Maltese-registered cargo ship, has been drifting at sea for six weeks after sustaining injury shortly after departing from Russia. Ports all through Europe haven’t allowed the ship to dock due to its contents and compromised state. In accordance with the New York Times, the ship is carrying a staggering 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a chemical generally utilized in agricultural fertilizers. As a result of harmful nature of its cargo and injury to the vessel, no port has granted entry for long-term repairs, leaving the MV Ruby in limbo.
When improperly saved or uncovered to stressors like warmth and strain, ammonium nitrate can grow to be extremely unstable and explosive. Notably, ammonium nitrate was the identical substance accountable for the catastrophic Beirut port explosion in August 2020 that claimed 200 lives, displaced 300,000 individuals, and inflicted 15 billion kilos in injury on the Lebanese capital. Alarmingly, MV Ruby’s cargo holds roughly seven occasions the quantity. The potential blast equal to an atomic bomb has raised severe considerations, emphasising the pressing want to make sure the protected disposal or restore of the vessel.
Over the weekend, the MV Ruby remained 14 miles off the coast of Kent, in southeastern England, the place it has been since final month, as per NYT.
The ship, registered in Malta and owned by Ruby Enterprise, is managed by Serenity Transport primarily based within the UAE, however its Russian cargo has raised suspicions. Its stalled journey has sparked considerations amongst governments that it may very well be a Malicious program geared toward sabotaging very important delivery and port infrastructure.
The ship’s journey started in late August from the Russian port of Kandalaksha, with a reported vacation spot of the Canary Islands. Nevertheless, after sustaining injury, the Ruby tried to dock at Norwegian and Lithuanian ports, solely to be refused attributable to safety considerations. Lithuania’s Overseas Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, made it clear that regardless of no proof of malicious intent, the nation can’t afford to let its guard down when coping with Russia.
”After we are coping with Russia or different worldwide actors which are unfriendly to us, we at all times preserve this risk in thoughts,” Lithuania’s overseas minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis mentioned.
The authorities in Sweden additionally denied the vessel to dock in Gothenburg and Uddevalla ports that are nearer to populated areas.
The MV Ruby then headed to Britain, solely to be met with heightened scrutiny. Lithuania’s former ambassador to Britain, Eitvydas Bajarunas labelled the ship a “floating megabomb” in a suppose tank column, warning of potential Russian sabotage.
The MV Ruby’s managers have requested permission to dock, switch its 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate to a different vessel, and endure important repairs. Nevertheless, British authorities have but to reply. Within the meantime, the ship has refuelled whereas anchored at sea, in accordance with the British Coast Guard.