Ivory Coast's Abidjan on edge as ship loaded with volatile cargo nears port

NEWS WIRES

5 January 2025 at 4:45 am·1-min read

A general view of the port of Abidjan on May 8, 2020.

A vessel loaded with 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate – the same chemical that left large parts of Beirut in ruins in an explosion in 2020 – is nearing the port of Abidjan. Campaigners have expressed concern about letting the ship unload its allegedly damaged cargo, but authorities say they have put measures in place to ensure the population’s safety.

Officials at the Ivorian port of Abidjan said Saturday they were taking precautions ahead of the arrival of a ship carrying 20,000 tons of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate.

Campaigners have expressed concern about the condition of the cargo, which is arriving Monday on the Barbados-flagged Zimrida.

“Following allegations of damage to the cargo transported and as a precaution to protect the population and property”, the ship would remain in the outer harbour, said the port authority.

On Monday morning port and customs officials will meet with owners of both the cargo and the vessel to examine the situation in depth, the statement added.

The port is due to unload 3,000 tonnes of the controversial cargo.

Although normally used as an agricultural fertiliser, ammonium nitrate can also be used to make explosives.

It was an explosion of ammonium nitrate in Beirut that killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital in 2020.

A long journey

It is not the first time this particular cargo has raised concerns.

(AFP)

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A long journey

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