The Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, has said a ship carrying a potentially explosive cargo which is seeking to call in the country for urgent repairs will be denied access.
Media reported last week that the Ruby, a 37,000 dwt open hatch carrier carrying 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, sought emergency refuge at the port of Tromso in northern Norway after it ran into difficulties in bad weather. It has suffered damage to its propeller, hull, and rudder.
The ship then applied to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda to offload its cargo and carry out repairs.
“The cargo will not be allowed to enter the port,” Šimonytė said on Thursday while quizzed in parliament.
The ship is currently at anchor some 100 nautical miles southwest of Tromso.
Ammonium nitrate has been responsible for some of the largest shipping-related explosions of all time including the 2020 destruction of much of the port of Beirut and the 1947 Texas City disaster in Galveston Bay, one of the deadliest industrial accidents recorded in the US.