Russia-origin cargo ship MV Ruby, carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, is drifting off European coasts after it was denied entry in various ports due to its dangerous explosive cargo. The “floating megabomb” with 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate poses serious safety risks and there is much concern all over the globe.

An explosion of 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate on board a Russia-origin cargo ship, the MV Ruby, is an international concern to sail through European waters. The ship is branded a “floating megabomb” by the experts, as it hasn’t been admitted into most ports in Europe, owing to its damaged condition and dangerous cargo. The fact this process has gone on this long, however, should be a cause for concern as far as safety within the world is concerned, if anything, due to the potential for massive explosive power of ammonium nitrate, the exact chemical that brought destruction upon Beirut in 2020.

The MV Ruby: A Ship Waiting

The cargo ship MV Ruby is a cargo ship belonging to the country of Malta. It had left the Russian port of Kandalaksha at the tail end of August. Serenity Shipping in UAE owns the vessel that belongs to Ruby Enterprise. The ship is carrying a lumpy cargo of Russian fertilizer to the Canary Islands. However, soon after leaving it got damaged and could not take that forward. So it started searching for a port for repairs in distress.

The ship has been drifting for more than six weeks after it was turned back by several European nations after it refused docking rights in Norway, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. .

 The Hazardous Freight: 20,000 Tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate

At the heart of the issue is the ultra-sensitive freight on board the MV Ruby : 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. This chemical, used in fertilizers, is very poisonous when subjected to stressors such as heat and pressure. Ammonium nitrate has been known to be explosive, like that of the Beirut port explosion that claimed 200 lives and complete obliteration of everything that was within its orbit. The MV Ruby carries a seven times larger amount than that of the Beirut disaster, and experts say the energy force from the MV Ruby has been said to be as if it had an atomic bomb inside.

Apprehensions have increased throughout the world with regards to this.

For Saxonia’s crew and nearly all the others on board, fears run high as the ship draws away from the coast of Kent, England. There is absolutely no way Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis would let the ship dock at any of his country’s ports. The reasons he cited sabotage among them. “When we are dealing with Russia or other international actors that are unfriendly to us, we always keep this possibility in mind,” Landsbergis said.

The European governments have become very vigilant with a fear of this ship being used as a Trojan horse for sabotage-the ship’s cargo for which it is carrying comes from Russia, after all. While evil intent still remains unconfirmed, the nature of the cargo itself and the strained political relations with Russia added fuel to the scrutiny level. It was once described by Lithuania’s former ambassador to Britain, Eitvydas Bajarunas, as a “floating megabomb,” which might carry enormous disasters if left unchecked.

It’s been denied entry across Europe and is now seeking asylum in Ukraine.

MV Ruby attempted docking several times at ports in Norway, Lithuania, Sweden, and the UK with no success. The risk the cargo represented to the world proved so threatening that even senior authorities turned down the ship, despite appeals by her owners, who pleaded dangers the ship posed to safety before people’s economic and logistical convenience considerations.

The Swedes wouldn’t even permit the ship to enter ports of Gothenburg and Uddevalla, bordering densely inhabited regions. The Lithuanians also declined to let the vessel enter their territory despite no concrete signs of ill intentions on the side of the ship, claiming that there is no way to forecast behavior when dealing with Russian cargo.

The Cry for Urgent Action

Meanwhile, the ship remains stranded in the sea tided now at 14 miles from the coast of Kent as the officials try to find a way of solving the situation. The British authorities conducted a refueling operation during the weekend for the MV Ruby in an effort to allow it to remain operational in the meantime since it is too early for the situation to be solved.

The managers of the ship have sought permission to transfer the cargo into another ship and to undertake urgent repairs. British authorities are still studying the same request where international pressure continues to rise amidst calls by governments to take prompt action to avoid any impending disaster emanating from the “floating megabomb”.

Russia and Further Suspicion

To the already nipped suspicion, Russian cargo carried in the ship added more fuel to the same. This, in concert with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and geo-political posturing of Russia, left the international community dilly-dallying as to what the Russian’s real intent was. Lacking proof that sabotage is done deliberately by the MV Ruby, the Russian interests at play kept the European authorities on their tenterhooks.

It drifts, drifts in limbo, yet it still questions whether the ship does enough to ensure safe transportation of hazardous materials, especially when they pose this great a threat to public safety.

A Threat Afloat in the Sea with No Crystal Solution

The perilous voyage of the MV Ruby is an example of growing world risk due to dangerous cargo transportation, more so at a time of increased geopolitical tension. The ship, carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stays in European waters as no port wants to admit her. That is now an international spectacle, and one prays that it will not be too soon before the crash unfolds.

The longer a ship travels in the open sea, the stronger its need to have the explosive cargo handled with care. And all the time, MV Ruby floats amidst the makings of a “megabomb,” not-so-subtly reminding everybody of this thin line between commerce and catastrophe.