Malta denies claims that a ship carrying 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, seven times the amount which devasted Beirut, is bound for the Mediterranean island
https://timesofmalta.com/article/ship-carrying-explosive-material-not-heading-malta.1098468
Posted by MountainBlock
6 Comments
It’s a floating bomb. And the ship is damaged.
That’s not some wildly unusual quantity in general ammonium nitrate international shipping terms, it’s a very important chemical, just can’t trust the russians specifically not to accidentally a port city these days I suppose.
Was a [50,000 ton](https://gcaptain.com/incredible-incident-photo-shows-british-bulk-carrier-fertilizer-fire/) ammonium nitrate fertilizer shipping fire in 2017, though kept well away from shore. It doesn’t *necessarily* explode if it ignites, depends on conditions, miiight just [burn for a fortnight](https://www.iomshipregistry.com/media/1874/ca128-cheshire.pdf).
Ah yes, Malta trying to squirm out of responsibility, why am i not surprised?
It’s a Maltese ship, be it Russian, Syrian or UAE operated/chartered or not, it mattes not.
Malta: known for golden passports [letting rich oligarchs buy citizenship into EU for themselves and their families.](https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/09/29/eu-refers-malta-to-court-over-controversial-golden-passport-scheme) And making [human traffickers walk off with a slap on the wrist or covering it up entirely](https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-01-02/blogs-opinions/How-Malta-protects-human-traffickers-6736239066) and now it’s Maltese ships being used by Russian shell companies to bypass sanctions moving oil from their tankers to other tankers right outside Malta.
>The shadow fleet relies on ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in order to mask the source of Russian oil. The locations identified as STS transshipment areas include the Laconian Gulf, Hurd’s Bank near Malta.
[Source](https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/russia-s-shadow-fleet-tactics-exposed)..
>”There is no request for the ship to enter Maltese ports,” a spokesperson for Transport Malta said.
[Don’t fucking care](https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-daphne-project/malta-a-modern-smugglers-hideout).
Have fun with the explosive cargo amongst the billionare yachts once it’s forced to return.
[Ruby would like to have a word](https://www.vesselfinder.com/?imo=9626390):
ETA: Oct 08, 18:00
The ship is probably going to its destination, which is closer, and not Malta which is further away. Someone did order this fertilizer.
They tried getting that thing repaired in Lithuania but that didn’t work out. Let’s see how this goes