Beirut: Cargo was destined for Mozambique and was replaced by another order

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Beirut: Cargo was destined for Mozambique and was replaced by another order

9:01 CAT | 10 Aug 2020

FILE -Captain Boris Prokoshev and crew members demand their release from the arrested cargo vessel Rhosus in the Port of Beirut, in a summer 2014 photograph. [File photo: Reuters/Private archives of Boris Musinchak]

The Explosives Factory of Mozambique (FEM) confirmed on Sunday that it ordered the 2,7 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that caused the explosions in Beirut, noting that the cargo seized by the Lebanese authorities has been replaced by another shipment.

The order was placed by FEM, in 2013, with the company Savaro, from Georgia, and the expected unloading site was the port of Beira, in Mozambique, the Mozambican firm’s official source told Lusa.

However, that cargo “was never delivered”, since the ship was detained in Beirut, by order of the local authorities.

The cargo was stored in the port of the Lebanese capital and was responsible for the explosions recorded on Tuesday, which devastated entire neighbourhoods and caused 158 deaths and more than 6.000 injuries.

To date, Mozambican authorities have never confirmed that the country was the destination for ammonium nitrate. On Thursday, the managing company of the port of Beira said it was unaware of this order and the previous day, the Mozambican Ministry of Transport and Communications said it was unaware of this explosive material.

FEM is owned by Moura, Silva & Filhos, headquartered in Póvoa de Lanhoso, Braga district.

According to a company source, that was a “normal order”, for a material used in its commercial activity, “always complying scrupulously with all legal requirements and best international practices”.

FEM “has no relationship with shipowners or freight forwarders, since its relationship with suppliers is limited to the orders it places. In fact, this is the case with all importers, be it refrigerators, automobiles, tractors or air conditioners ”, added the same source, stressing that the company“ does not have any activity as a forwarder or shipping company ”and is“ a mere user ”.

The company also stressed that “it never pays any cargo before it is delivered”, to make it clear that, until receipt, it has no responsibility for it.

“FEM has been on the market since 1955 and has never had any problems with handling the products that matter,” said the source, saying that it “provides customers safely across the east coast of Africa”.

In view of the ship’s retention in Beirut, Savaro ended up sending a new cargo of ammonium nitrate, through another vessel. However, FEM abandoned that supplier, due to “non-compliance” with delivery times.

Source: Lusa