Following the recent incident in the port of Beirut, the port is currently closed with all traffic being diverted to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon.
Namely, according to Gard Club’s correspondents, the port of Beirut is closed for a minimum period of 14 days which could be extended until port facilities have been restored. In the meantime, all traffic for the port is being diverted to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon.
”Unfortunately, some Gard entered vessels currently in the port were impacted by the explosion, but no shipboard fatalities have been reported on board the affected vessels.” the Club stated.
According to the United Nations interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL maritime task force ship that was docked in Beirut port was damaged and some UNIFIL naval peacekeepers were injured, some of them seriously.
An Egyptian-operated ship was unloading 5,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat in Beirut when a powerful blast ripped through the port but the cargo is “in good condition,” the shipping company’s operations director told Reuters.
On 4 August 2020 at around 1800 local time, a large explosion in the Beirut port area destroyed the entire port infrastructure and killed over 100 people and injured thousands. The severity of the explosion was said to be comparable to an earthquake.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his deepest condolences to Lebanon, stating that the destruction of the port will have devastating consequences to the country and the UN is assisting the immediate response to the incident. In addition, many shipping organization express sympathy to the families of the victims. At least 100 people were killed and more than 4,000 wounded. The number of dead is expected to rise as rescuers sifted through the rubble.
