To the Grim Reapers of “Hangar 12”
The General Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport did not inform the judiciary of the fact that the ammonium nitrate is explosive material
In April 2014, the General Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport kick-started correspondences with the judge of urgent matters requesting authorization to sell the ship and the cargo to prevent an environmental disaster since it was at risk of sinking, after re-examining it and discovering that it was leaking. It is noteworthy to state that the three letters sent by the General Directorate of Transport did not mention the explosive nature of the material.
The judicial authority licensed unloading the cargo in a suitable place at the request of the Directorate of Transport and under its guard
The state’s attorney then submitted to the judge of urgent matters a request to refloat the ship, offload the cargo and sell it to prevent environmental and maritime risks. Correspondingly, the judge of urgent matters issued in June 2014 his decision authorizing to re-float the ship, offload the cargo and place them in an appropriate place under the guard of the summoning authority, represented by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. However, the judge refused to authorize the sale of the ship for lack of jurisdiction.
Ghazi Zeaiter, Minister of Public Works and Transport at the time, was informed about of the Rhosus ship issue
Subsequently, the legal agent of the ship asked the judge of urgent matters to allow the sailors to return home, while the Embassy of Ukraine and the Embassy of the Russian federation sent two letters to the Former Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ghazi Zeaiter, asking for help in finding solutions to allow their citizens (crew members) to return back home.
Major General Abbas Ibrahim's letter on the ship was the first and last
Director General of the General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim sent a letter to each of the former minister of interior and municipalities, Nohad El Machnouk, the former prime minister of Lebanon Tammam Salam, the former minister of labor, Ghazi Zeaiter, and the former president of the Lebanese Republic, Michel Suleiman, warning them about a transit ship loaded with ammonium nitrate, that's seized at the port of Beirut.
That was his first and last correspondence regarding the ammonium nitrate case.
The Directorate of Transport, along with the Port Administration, chose Hangar 12 as a suitable place to store the dangerous cargo until it is sold
Implementing the judge of urgent matters' decision was delayed approximately five months before all concerned parties were informed and an appropriate place to store the ammonium nitrate was chosen. Then, the General Director of the Land and Maritime Transport, Abdel Hafez el-Kaissi, proposed storing the cargo at the harbor. The chairman of the Management and Investment of the Port of Beirut, Hassan Koraytem, endorsed Kaissi's proposal choosing “Hangar 12” as the right place to store the chemicals, until they are auctioned off.
The Manifest Department warned that the harbor is not suitable for storing ammonium nitrate
On 23 October, offloading the cargo began in Hangar 12 where the clerk of the court made sure that the judge’s decision was implemented and the Beirut harbor master, Mohammad al-Mawla, was appointed as the judicial guard of the Hangar, as he was the representative of the General Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport. However, al-Mawla signed with reservations, stressing that he has no authority over the Hangar which falls under the authority of the customs administration and the port authority. In parallel, Nehme Brax, the head of the Manifest Department at the port, sent a letter to his superior warning that flammable material is stored in Hangar 12, making it unsuitable for ammonium nitrate. Brax warned of potential disaster, recommending the immediate hand over of the ammonium nitrate to the Lebanese army or re-exporting it after requesting the judge of urgent matters approval to elevate responsibility.
The Customs Directorate insisted on sending letters to the judge of urgent matters, despite his frequent responses stressing that he is not the relevant authority
The General Directorate of Customs disregarded the Manifest Department’s recommendations, especially in terms of delivering the dangerous cargo to the army. Instead, they settled to sending a letter to the judge of urgent matters asking him to bind the ship’s maritime agent to re-export the cargo at his own expenses. The judge rejected the request for it was procedurally incorrect. The customs administration sent six more letters of the same request, although the court of urgent matters noted each time that they do not have jurisdiction to authorize these measures. On his behalf, the judge of urgent matters forwarded the second letter to the petitioning party, represented by the Cases Authority, calling on them to discuss the court of urgent matters’ jurisdiction deciding on matters related to the ownership of the cargo. However, the customs administration represented by former customs director Shafic Merhi kept sending letters without considering the procedural grounds.
Tons of Nitrate or Nutella Jars!