Tons of Nitrate or Nutella Jars!
The Company that Owns the Nitrate Inspected the Cargo in 2015 and the Customs was aware of it
In 2015, the owner of the cargo, Savaro Limited, sent a letter to the judge of urgent matters requesting to appoint an expert to inspect and determine the condition of its cargo stored at the Beirut port and if it was still valid for consumption. Expert Mireille Moukarzel was then commissioned on the task. She noted that more than 1,900 bags were torn according to the entry voucher. Moukarzel took a sample of the intact bags to examine the grade of nitrogen in it, but Savaro's legal agent rejected the chemical examination.
The army suggested selling the ammonium nitrate without any further follow-up, ignoring its authority to confiscate and dispose of the dangerous material.
In November 2015, the Lebanese Army sent a letter to the General Directorate of Customs inquiring about the ammonium nitrate bags stored in Hangar 12 and requested examining the cargo to confirm the grade of nitrogen, since it was not stated on the bags. Subsequently, expert Mireille Moukarzel prepared a report confirming that the nitrogen grade of the ammonium nitrate is 34.7 percent. A report, also prepared by the Gear Directorate in the Lebanese army, warned of the risks of keeping the ammonium nitrate in Hangar 12, indicating that the army has no need for this huge quantity. The Gear Directorate claimed that the army is unable to damage the cargo, and suggested selling it to a private company owned by Majid Al-Chammas or re-exporting it. Consequently, the General Directorate of Customs sent only one letter to the Lebanese army stating the nitrogen grade of the ammonium nitrate in the stored bags, to which the army’s administration replied with a letter reiterating what was mentioned in the Gear Directorate's report, stating that the Lebanese army doesn’t need the ammonium nitrate, and called for their re-export or sale to Majid Al-Chammas.
At this point, the Lebanese army stopped following up on a case of explosive material stored in an inappropriate place.
The Customs Directorate ignored its authority to dispose the cargo in accordance with Article 144 of the Customs Law
While the correspondence between the director of the manifest department and his administration recurred with the same previous recommendations, the general directorate of customs continued sending the same letters to the judge of urgent matters, but this time, they included the nitrogen grade in the material and the Lebanese army’s recommendation to sell them without mentioning the possibility of their disposal. The judge of urgent matters reaffirmed his previous decisions and scheduled a court hearing for the ship’s agent and the summoning party, which is the state’s attorney representing the directorate of transport. None of them appeared at the hearing.
The Minister of Finance did not refer the customs letter to the state’s lawyer and did not feel concerned in following up on a matter of highly dangerous cargo
In a new twist amid the hit-and-run letters between the general directorate of customs and the urgent judiciary, Customs Director General Shafik Merhi sent a letter to the Cases Authority resembling what the other letters previously read. The former minister of finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, received the letter and returned it to the customs administration instead of forwarding it to the Cases Authority, requesting that the letter be sent to the judge of urgent matters. Hereafter, Chafic Merhi, took advantage of the situation to re-send the letter to the judge of urgent matters, under the pretext that it was upon the request of the minister of finance. Notably, this was the last letter sent by Merhi before he was replaced by Badri Daher in March 2017 as a Customs Director. It's worth mentioning that Badri Daher was the General Director of the Manifest Department when the ship first entered the port of Beirut.
By the end of 2017, Badri Daher stopped sending any letter related to the ammonium nitrate and their dangerous nature.
In 2017, Badri Daher sent two letters to the judge of urgent matters reiterating the content of the previous letters before he completely stoped sending letters related to the ammonium nitrate stored in Hangar 12. The last correspondences sent on behalf of the manifest department to the customs administration in this regard were in March 2018, after which no letters were sent.
Minister of Public Works and Transport, Youssef Finianos, failed to address the dangerous nature of the cargo, instead he requested selling them to pay the debts incurred.
By 2018, the judge of urgent matters no longer received letters. Surprisingly, after three years, the ministry of public works reiterated its request to the state’s attorney to sell the shipwreck and the cargo, although the ship sank in 2018 during a storm that hit the country.
The state’s attorney transferred the request to the execution department in Beirut. The Cases Authority and back then minister of labor, Youssef Fenianos, negotiated the process of paying 700.000 Lebanese Lira for the expert who will examine the ship. Then, the execution court in Beirut issued its decision by the beginning of 2019, which allowed selling the shipwreck without making any reference to the cargo. Hence, the state’s attorney pledged to amend the decision but there is no indication that the decision has been altered.
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