The Bulgarian company Briar Wood Corporation is the owner of the ship carrying ammonium nitrate, which exploded at the port of Beirut two days ago and destroyed the Lebanese capital. This was stated by the chairman of one of the Russian maritime unions Nikolai Sukhanov.

Sukhanov clarified that the ship Rhosus was traveling under the Moldovan flag. In a situation like this, the real owner can be very difficult to find, and in most cases the documents are prepared in a way that the owner cannot be held liable.

The Bulgarian trail was reached after it first became clear that the ship was owned by a Russian. In 2013, he transported nitrate from Batumi to Mozambique, but had to stop due to an accident in Lebanon.

Authorities stopped the vessel from leaving the port. The owner, Igor Greshuchkin, declared bankruptcy and abandoned the crew of Russians and Ukrainians. The sailors were in Beirut for more than a year, where they were in distress without food or money. Greshuchkin currently lives in Cyprus.

How and when the vessel became the property of the Bulgarian company is not clear. For more than 6 years, ammonium nitrate from the vessel has been stored at the port of Beirut. Authorities believe that safety measures have not been observed and months ago there was a prescription that the cargo was extremely dangerous and had to be moved.

On August 4, 2,750 tons of saltpeter exploded and a explosion killed hundreds. More than 4,000 were injured. At least 300,000 people in Beirut are estimated to be homeless. The death toll is still unclear, and the number is steadily rising. 

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