Ruby saga concludes as cargo offloaded in Africa

While storm-damaged bulk carrier M/V Ruby is repaired at the A&P Group Tyne’s Drydock No.1, the remainder of its 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate cargo has been offloaded in The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, bringing a months-long saga to a close.

Some 300 tonnes of the cargo had been dumped off the coast of Great Yarmouth, after fears that it had been contaminated by leaking fuel. The move proved unpopular in the UK, with Reform Party MP Robert Lowe making allegations of “environmental terrorism” over Twitter.

Meanwhile, while the Malta-flagged Ruby lay alongside at Great Yarmouth, the remaining 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was transferred to Barbados-flagged Zimrida, called at Abidjan last week to finally offload the cargo.

First loaded in Kandalaksha, Russia, it had initially been destined for Brazil; but this changed when the Ruby was grounded in a storm not long after departure, causing damage to the hull and propeller. Carrying seven times the amount of ammonium nitrate as levelled the Port of Beirut in a 2020 explosion, the vessel limped onward to Norway, where it was denied access to the Port of Tromsø, after it was deemed too close to a university and hospital. Plans to return to a Russian Baltic Sea port were similarly scrapped after Danish authorities denied access to the Strait of Denmark.