Blind Eyes and Blame Games: The Beirut Port Blast
By Laxmi Mohan, 9/16/2021
October 2013, The Rhosus, a Russian-owned merchant vessel carrying an estimated amount of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, halts at Beirut. The crewmen abandon the vessel due to alleged internal issues and technical problems at sea.
June 2014, former Lebanese customs director Merhi sent across a letter to an "urgent matters judge" regarding the dangers of holding such large amounts of ammonium nitrate and requesting action on the same. Similar warning notifications were sent in December 2014 - May 2015.
In October 2015 the tonnes of ammonium nitrate were offloaded to Hangar 12 of Beirut Port and the Rhosu remained detained at the port.
In the coming years, officials from the customs constantly send letters to the judiciary pleading and urging them to acknowledge the dangers of leaving the goods at Hangar 12.
In 2017, the new customs director Daher suggested that the marine agency re-export the ammonium nitrate immediately for the safety of the port and those working in it, and an alternative of selling the same to the explosives company in Lebanon.
July 2020, the Lebanon Public Works Minister learns of the presence of dangerous products at the Port.
August 2020, as predicted over the years, a fire gets reported at the Beirut Port. Soon enough, the blast takes place bringing about widespread destruction and damage.
With a force equivalent to the magnitude of a 3.3 earthquake, Beirut witnesses one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. Along with this erupted protests filled with rage and despair directed towards the ruling Government and their dereliction of the duties entrusted to them.
The toll has been documented as 218 dead, 7000 injured, and 300000 displaced families. Damage in terms of death, livelihood, economy, and political affairs went unacknowledged despite its scale of intensity. More than 60% of the trade in the country was conducted at the Beirut Port, and this left the city facing a severe scarcity of food and other essential resources. The World Bank has estimated material damage alone at about 3.8-4.6 Billion US$, and despite all this, the numbers continue to rise and delayed justice continues to fuel the ongoing abuse of power.
Media Coverage and the Blame Game
Newsrooms came into the scene quite later. The initial visuals that went global were those of the infamous "Bride of Beirut" and others tweeted out by citizens on the ground. Lebanese media publications were barred and censored from releasing any news that criticised the Government during the port blast. The petty corruption and ever-shifting blame merited international coverage, but for many reasons did not receive it. Accountability and independent probes by media houses and international organisations were dodged systematically for a year.
The first parliament session that convened after the blast passed a resolution granting powers to the army to prosecute anyone who "threatened national security." This new ruling entailed t limits on free speech, freedom to assembly and most importantly the freedom of the press. The rights of the Lebanese public to authentic and unbiased information was limited, and so was the information flow towards global media forums. During this phase, even bloggers and online journalists were restricted by the Bureau for Combating Cyber-crimes. Official correspondence of interviews and documents were released to the public along with long-standing evidence indicating the involvement of officials ranging from former President Michel Aoun to former Lebanese Army Commander among many others. Even if the news made its routine rounds, the tragedies caused by bureaucratic neglect rarely got the attention it deserved.
The Rhosus remains as a case that just touches the tip of the iceberg. Hazardous goods are traded and abandoned on the sea route regularly, and this situation has been labelled synonymous with a "Ticking time bomb" by the General Secretary of the International Chamber of Shipping, Guy Platten. Prolonged history of corruption and bribery schemes at the port owned by the Government, rightfully awarded it the nickname of the "Cave of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves".
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recorded about 97 cases of abandoned ships since 2017, and there are many more such cases that go unreported. Even in Beirut Port, not farther away from the explosion site is an abandoned oil tanker (Captain Nagdaliyev) which was missed by a hair's length, making locals wonder how many more mushroom clouds it will take for this issue to receive global media attention.
June 2014, former Lebanese customs director Merhi sent across a letter to an "urgent matters judge" regarding the dangers of holding such large amounts of ammonium nitrate and requesting action on the same. Similar warning notifications were sent in December 2014 - May 2015.
In October 2015 the tonnes of ammonium nitrate were offloaded to Hangar 12 of Beirut Port and the Rhosu remained detained at the port.
In the coming years, officials from the customs constantly send letters to the judiciary pleading and urging them to acknowledge the dangers of leaving the goods at Hangar 12.
In 2017, the new customs director Daher suggested that the marine agency re-export the ammonium nitrate immediately for the safety of the port and those working in it, and an alternative of selling the same to the explosives company in Lebanon.
July 2020, the Lebanon Public Works Minister learns of the presence of dangerous products at the Port.
August 2020, as predicted over the years, a fire gets reported at the Beirut Port. Soon enough, the blast takes place bringing about widespread destruction and damage.
With a force equivalent to the magnitude of a 3.3 earthquake, Beirut witnesses one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. Along with this erupted protests filled with rage and despair directed towards the ruling Government and their dereliction of the duties entrusted to them.
The toll has been documented as 218 dead, 7000 injured, and 300000 displaced families. Damage in terms of death, livelihood, economy, and political affairs went unacknowledged despite its scale of intensity. More than 60% of the trade in the country was conducted at the Beirut Port, and this left the city facing a severe scarcity of food and other essential resources. The World Bank has estimated material damage alone at about 3.8-4.6 Billion US$, and despite all this, the numbers continue to rise and delayed justice continues to fuel the ongoing abuse of power.
Media Coverage and the Blame Game
Newsrooms came into the scene quite later. The initial visuals that went global were those of the infamous "Bride of Beirut" and others tweeted out by citizens on the ground. Lebanese media publications were barred and censored from releasing any news that criticised the Government during the port blast. The petty corruption and ever-shifting blame merited international coverage, but for many reasons did not receive it. Accountability and independent probes by media houses and international organisations were dodged systematically for a year.
The first parliament session that convened after the blast passed a resolution granting powers to the army to prosecute anyone who "threatened national security." This new ruling entailed t limits on free speech, freedom to assembly and most importantly the freedom of the press. The rights of the Lebanese public to authentic and unbiased information was limited, and so was the information flow towards global media forums. During this phase, even bloggers and online journalists were restricted by the Bureau for Combating Cyber-crimes. Official correspondence of interviews and documents were released to the public along with long-standing evidence indicating the involvement of officials ranging from former President Michel Aoun to former Lebanese Army Commander among many others. Even if the news made its routine rounds, the tragedies caused by bureaucratic neglect rarely got the attention it deserved.
The Rhosus remains as a case that just touches the tip of the iceberg. Hazardous goods are traded and abandoned on the sea route regularly, and this situation has been labelled synonymous with a "Ticking time bomb" by the General Secretary of the International Chamber of Shipping, Guy Platten. Prolonged history of corruption and bribery schemes at the port owned by the Government, rightfully awarded it the nickname of the "Cave of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves".
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recorded about 97 cases of abandoned ships since 2017, and there are many more such cases that go unreported. Even in Beirut Port, not farther away from the explosion site is an abandoned oil tanker (Captain Nagdaliyev) which was missed by a hair's length, making locals wonder how many more mushroom clouds it will take for this issue to receive global media attention.
