July 20, 2020 State Security Report
Editorial NOTE: This report contains factual errors, some of which have been commented on Human Rights watch report They Killed Us from the Inside.]
Date: July 20, 2020
In June 2014, a ship called RHOSUS entered the port of Beirut in provenance from Moldova to carry two large bulldozers. When it arrived, said ship’s cargo hold broke, causing the ship to fall into disrepair and be unfit for navigation again, with four sailors from various foreign nationalities being on board.
After inspecting the remaining cargo, it was found to be carrying a large amount (about 2,750 tons) of ammonium nitrate, which is used to manufacture explosives since it is highly explosive and highly flammable, sent to an African country, specifically Mozambique, and belonging to SAFARI LIMITED, legally represented in Lebanon by lawyer George al-Kareh. After reviewing the case and apprising himself of the necessary information, Judge Zwein decided to impound the ship and detain the sailors on board because a notice for precautionary impounding had been issued by the Ministry of Justice’s Enforcement Department under number 1031/2013, dated December 20, 2013, stipulating that the ship should be impounded due to a debt owed to Bunkarnet LTD and prevented from leaving territorial waters unless an amount of 119,396.38 US dollars to cover the debt is deposited, in addition to estimated amount of 11,940 [US dollars] to cover additional costs. Then, a second notice was issued by the Beirut Enforcement Department numbered 377/2014, dated May 5, 2014, for the benefit of Agrico Abria corporation, stipulating that [the ship] should be prevented from leaving Lebanese territorial waters due to a debt amounting to 23,000 Euros owed to the said firm. Then, the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Transport requested from the judge of urgent matters Nadim Zwein to finalize the necessary procedures to refloat the ship and authorize the removal of the cargo on board to another location given the environmental risk it poses, and ensure it is being guarded, in addition to issuing any authorization as needed.
A team of specialists inspected the ship, and as a result, found that the body had serious flaws that threaten navigational safety. Hence, it was prevented from traveling, and instead was refloated inside the port in preparation for the cargo on board to be removed and stored in an adequate location assigned by the Customs Authority and where it would be guarded by the Customs Authority.
On September 1, 2014, judge Nadim Zwein allowed the sailors on board of the ship to return home. On October 21, 2014, judicial clerk Ziad Shaaban accessed the port and requested from the Customs Brigade to accompany him to dock 9 to which the ship had been tugged. He met the harbor master, Mohammad al-Mawla, who informed him that the ship’s cargo was a hazardous substance, and that given that it had not been inspected for a long time, the surroundings of the ship needed to be evacuated and the cargo hold should be ventilated for no less than 12 hours, after which the cargo inside the hold would be inspected and removed for storing in a special warehouse. This was done by the Customs Authority; the said goods were transported to hangar 12, within the precinct of the Beirut port, which is designated to store hazardous substances.
On November 13, 2014, judicial clerk Ziad Shaaban arrived and ensured judge Zwein’s decision was implemented. Mohammad al-Mawla was appointed judicial guard for the goods inside the hangar, as a result of which he would be held responsible for anything going missing or damaged and if that occurred he would be prosecuted. Then, Mohammad al-Mawla expressed his reservation because the hangars inside the port are under the authority of Gestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth [GEPB], not his.
SAFARI LIMITED, through its legal counsel George al-Kareh, requested from judge Zwein to appoint an expert to examine the said goods. On January 5, 2015, judge Zwein appointed Mireille Moukarzel as an expert to inspect the goods, which was done. On February 4, 2015, Moukarzel inspected the goods and took a sample from them for analysis. It was found that the goods had a 34.7% nitrogen composition and fell under the classification of a hazardous substance. Then, the port’s Manifest Department suggested that this substance be immediately handed over to competent security authorities (the leadership of the Lebanese Army) or reexported abroad due the to the risk it poses and the disaster it could cause if it catches fire or explodes.
Once the army leadership learned about this, it refused to receive [the cargo] and stated that it does not need the said substance, and that the Lebanese Explosives Company, represented by Majid al-Shammas, could be contacted to find out if they could made use of the said substance, and that in the event that the company does not wish [to take the cargo], the cargo should be reexported to its country of origin at the importers’ expense, given the great risk resulting from keeping it in the warehouse in unfavorable climatic conditions and in order to keep the [warehouse] workers safe.
On February 18, 2018, the said ship sank within the precinct of the Beirut port near the breakwater and is still at the bottom of the sea, whereas the ammonium nitrate is still inside hangar 12 in the port.
The Beirut port’s Manifest Department sent several written requests to the Customs Directorate, starting when the ship entered Lebanese territorial waters until 2016, requesting from Judge Zwein to require the maritime agent to immediately reexport the said merchandise abroad to protect the safety of the port and its workers, and asked for a final decision regarding the fate of the merchandise and to be given needed instructions, but to date no decision in that regard has been issued.
After consulting with a source who is a chemistry specialist, he confirmed that this substance is hazardous and used in manufacturing explosives, and that if this substance was stolen, the burglar could use it to manufacture explosives.
After inspecting hangar 12 from the outside, it was found that door 9 of said hangar is dislodged and there is a hole in the hangar’s southern wall that would allow anyone to access it. We also observed that there are no guards.
In implementation of the decision of the State Security director general, issued by the Directory of Public Administration and Institutions Security no. 505/31, dated January 27, 2020, stipulating that competent judicial authorities should review the abovementioned, at 10:30 on May 28, 2020, the Government’s Commissioner at the Military Court [Military Prosecutor] Peter Germanos was contacted and informed about the file. He informed us that the military prosecution office has no jurisdiction over this issue, since the judge of urgent matters Nadim Zwein had issued a decision to unload the said substance into Beirut port’s hangar 12 and taken necessary legal measures.
At 11:30 on May 28, 2020, the Cassation Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat was contacted and informed about the entire case. He instructed that the GEPB should be contacted and the security official inside the port, who is officially mandated by the said management, should be summoned and have his statement taken with regards to this, and that [judge Oueidat] should be contacted again.
Employee Mohammad Ziad Rateb al-Awf was summoned and stated that he is the port’s security officer and head of the department for security and safety within GEPB and is responsible for the security and safety of anchored ships at the port’s dock and the safety of the structures within the port, but that he had absolutely no knowledge that a certain amount of ammonium nitrate was inside hangar 12. He said that he was surprised to know that given that ammonium nitrate is considered a poisonous and hazardous substance.
Mohammad al-Awf also stated that he communicated with engineer Mustapha Farshoukh (the port’s operations deputy director) and harbor master Mohamad al-Mawla in order to obtain information about this issue, so they informed him that this material was placed in hangar 12 approximately five years ago based on a judicial decision issued by the Beirut judge of urgent matters, waiting for an opposing judicial decision to remove the substance from the hangar, and since then, no judicial decision in this regard has been issued.
Mohamad [Ziad] al-Awf also stated that Mohammad al-Mawla has all the documents about this issue, and that he [al-Awf] was not aware that the door is dislodged or that there is a hole in the southern wall in the said hangar through which one could easily enter and steal its contents. When asked whether he knew that this substance was inside the said hangar, he answered that no one had told him about it.
Attorney general judge Ghassan Oueidat was contacted and told about the proceedings of the investigation, and he instructed that employee Mohammad Ziad al-Awf should be released and that harbor master Mohamad al-Mawla should be summoned and have his statement taken, and that [prosecutor Oueidat] should be contacted again.
Beirut port’s harbor master Mohammad Rameh al-Mawla was summoned. He stated that the harbor master reports to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and is responsible only for the maritime region extending from [the point at] 12 miles to the where ships are anchored at the docks. He stated that the hangars and structures within the port are under GEPB’s authority. He also stated that on November 21, 2013, a ship entered the port of Beirut carrying ammonium nitrate, which is a hazardous substance used to manufacture explosives. [He said] that the ship arrived from Greece and was heading to Mozambique, and after the ship fell in disrepair and was unfit for navigation, the harbor master received from the Beirut Enforcement Department the precautionary decision no. 1031/2013, dated December 20, 2013, stipulating that said ship should be impounded due to a debt owed to Bunkernet corporation, and that it should be stopped from leaving territorial waters unless it deposits a guarantee for the debt, which amounts to 119,396 US dollars plus additional costs estimated to be 11,940 US dollars. Then a second precautionary impounding decision was received, issued by the Beirut Enforcement Department under no. 377/2014, dated May 5, 2014, for the benefit of Agrico Abria, stipulating that it should be prevented from leaving the Lebanese territorial waters due to a debt amounting to 23,000 Euros owed to the said corporation, and the ship was impounded [on behalf of the two corporations]. Based on a decision by the judge of urgent matters, the ammonium nitrate that was carried by the ship, estimated to weigh 2,750 tons, was unloaded into hangar 12, which is assigned to store hazardous substances. Then, judicial clerk Ziad Shaaban wrote a report about this issue and assigned Mohamad al-Mawla a judicial guard for said substance, and the latter expressed reservation because guarding the hangar was part of GEPB’s authorities and not his, and he does not have the right to enter the hangar whenever he wishes to, nor does he possess the hangar’s door keys. He also stated that he is not aware that one of the hangar doors is dislodged or that there is a hole in the hangar door, and that the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Transport has sent several letters to competent judicial authorities to auction off the ammonium nitrate, but to date no decision has been issued in this regard.
After consulting Cassation Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat and informing him about the proceedings of the investigation, he instructed the release of the harbor master Mohammad al-Mawla and that a letter should be sent to GEPB asking it to provide guards for hangar 12; appoint a warehouse keeper for the said hangar; perform maintenance on all the doors and repair the hole in the southern wall and the rest of the holes if any, and tightly seal the doors; and close the investigation report and hand it over to him.
Second: conclusion:
- It has noted that GEPB has neglected guarding hangar 12, which facilitates for people to go in and out and steal the hazardous substances within.
- It has been noted that official institutions have not taken any measure to address this situation in order to eliminate the risk caused by this substance in case it got stolen or caught fire.
Attachments:
- Copy of precautionary impounding notice no. 1031/2013 (document no. 1)
- Copy of precautionary impounding notice no. 377/2014 (document no. 2)
- Photograph of dislodged door 9 (document no. 3)
- Photograph of ammonium nitrate (document no. 4 – page 3).
- Copy of form of entry of ammonium nitrate into Beirut port (document no. 5).
Translated by Human Rights Watch