Analysis – The aftermath of the Beirut port obliteration

Beirut, Lebanon (PortSEurope) August 7, 2020 - The port of Beirut, Lebanon’s busiest port, is not going to recover for many months after what is believed to be the largest ever explosion of conventional explosives in a warehouse there on August 4. The port handles 60% of all Lebanon imports. The country, suffering from a prolonged economic crisis, the massive spread of the coronavirus and rampant corruption, relies heavily on imports, especially for food supplies. The grain silos and the entire grain terminal of the port were destroyed in the explosion. The silos have a total capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes (mt) of grains. The silos consisted of 48 large cells, with a capacity of 2,500 mt each, and 50 small cells with a capacity of 500 mt each. They are also used as a strategic storage for Lebanon, with about 85% of the country's cereals stored there. It is believed that the silos did not contain huge quantities of grain at the time of the explosion. But most of the wheat that enters Lebanon uses the terminal that was totally destroyed. The wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used. The two blasts at 15:00 GMT on August 4 flattened the harbour front and surrounding buildings. Seismologists measured the event, which blew out windows at the city’s international airport 9 km away, as the equivalent of a 3.3 magnitude earthquake. More than 130 people died and over 4,000 were injured in the explosion. Some 300,000 people cannot live in their damaged homes. Many of those killed and injured were port and custom employees, and people working in the area or driving through during rush hour. French CMA CGM said its offices at the port were damaged. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said the container carrier’s office was “completely destroyed". Practically the entire infrastructure of the port was damaged in the explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the port since 2014. The story behind this huge amount of explosive material rotting in a poorly secured and maintained warehouse in the port is like one coming from a bad film: It was on board of a Moldova-flagged ship, owned by a Russian believed to be living in Cyprus, which was travelling from the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, to be delivered to Mozambique, but was abandoned in the port in 2013. Several carriers have shifted ships bound to the obliterated port of Beirut to other Mediterranean ports, including several that were rerouted to the Northern Lebanese port of Tripoli. The Israeli ports of Haifa and Ashdod should also get additional cargo that was sailing to Beirut. The Tripoli port is believed to be operating at 40% of its capacity and is able to receive Beirut-bound ships. China was the first to offer investments for the rebuilding of the port immediately after the blast. This is consistent with the Chinese policy of investing in ports that can help it export its huge amount of manufactured goods to Europe. “One Belt, One Road” – a simplified version of the “Silk Road and 21st Century New Maritime Silk Road” – concerns the China-led infrastructural investment project which aims to symbolically revive the corridor that united the East and the West. This initiative covers more than 60 countries and regions from Asia, through Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Africa. Not surprisingly, the United States followed suit – to counterbalance the Chinese influence in Lebanon and the region, but also to prevent Iran (with a key presence in Lebanon) from taking over the rebuilding and the consequent use of the strategic port. Another potential investor in the rebuilding of the port could be Russia, but it lacks money for such an investment. It would also be interesting to see whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan aggressive foreign policy will lead to his country involvement in the port reconstruction. Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2020.

Analysis – The aftermath of the Beirut port obliteration

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Analysis – The aftermath of the Beirut port obliteration

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