The Ruby, a Malta-flagged Russian-linked cargo ship, currently floats off Norway's northeast coast, casting a long shadow over the region's security and environmental landscape. Laden with a staggering 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate—a substance infamous for its role in catastrophic explosions—the ship represents an alarming threat due to its proximity to key military and civilian installations. The Ruby has been broadcasting "not under command" on its Automatic Identification System (AIS), meaning that it is effectively adrift and uncontrollable. Russia has officially claimed to have lost control of the vessel, further heightening tensions.
A Ship with a Dangerous Cargo
Ammonium nitrate, the Ruby's cargo, is widely used in agriculture as a fertilizer and in industry as an ingredient for explosives. Under stable conditions, the chemical is relatively safe. However, when subjected to extreme heat, shock, or contamination, it becomes highly volatile. The scale of the risk cannot be understated: 20,000 tons is more than seven times the quantity of ammonium nitrate that detonated in the tragic Beirut explosion of 2020, an event that left large portions of the Lebanese capital in ruins. Experts have noted that a similar explosion from the Ruby could cause devastation comparable to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, capable of flattening vast areas and causing widespread loss of life.
Long story at the link.
Over here is an article on it, which includes this video of what 2750 tons of AN did in Beirut.
8 comments:
If it does explode, it is intentional. Make no mistake ammonium nitrate will not explode on its own. In fact, if you try to burn it it will draw moisture from the air and extinguish the fire. It has to be mixed with a fuel of some type. The diesel or fuel oil used on the ship has the potential. This mixture is commonly known as ANFO. Beirut was likely not an accident, it has to be mixed just right to be able to go critical. Even when mixed it is very stable, this is why it is the choice for so many blasting companies.
That's a lot of pagers
-lg
If Russia has relinquished co troll of this vessel then either the US Navy or the Norwegians should take control of it and either use the valuable cargo or if necessary sink it.
If it gets wet, and then is exposed to heat, very bad things can happen. From what I've read that's what caused the Texas City explosion
The mix has to be used fairly quickly. And how did the fertilizer go boom in Lebanon?
In other words, Russia has invested Norway with a single, deniable fireship.
The Texas City explosion (near Galveston) was a ship laden with ammonium nitrate that caught fire and then exploded. There may have been a deck cargo of leaking oil barrels.
On the other hand, the Halifax explosion during WWII was pure ammonium nitrate, intended as either fertilizer for Britain's farms or chemical feed stock for British ammunition factories. It exploded after a collision. IRC, it was a bigger load of AN than Texas City and a more powerful explosion, but the death toll was lower because the population was much smaller.
This ship was loaded in the USA, and would not have been allowed within Halifax harbor in normal times, even if there were some reason it didn't proceed directly from the origin to the final destination. But in war time, it had to sail to Halifax and wait to join a convoy being escorted across the Atlantic. They couldn't leave it hanging around outside the port making a target for any U-Boat that happened by, so it was steaming into the harbor and met a Norwegian freighter steaming out in the fog.
I'd forgotten about Halifax
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