Crew of the "Rhosus" in Beirut: abandoned by the shipowner.
Photo: BORIS MUSINCHAK / REUTERSThe Beirut explosion killed more than 150 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless. It was so violent that it has been compared to a 3.5 magnitude earthquake - and was felt even in Cyprus.
The causes of the detonation, however, based on what is known so far, were almost banal: corporate negligence, corruption in politics, a bureaucracy that protects the anonymity and trade secrets of ship owners rather than supervising the industry.
The story of this failure begins with a barely seaworthy ship called "Rhosus", which was owned by Russia in 2013, sailed under the flag of the Republic of Moldova and transported tons of a colorless and odorless crystalline substance from Georgia to Mozambique. The rusty freighter, which was manned by eight Ukrainians and one Russian, was stopped by the Lebanese port authorities because they considered the ship too unsafe to continue the voyage.
Ghost ships like the "Rhosus" pose a deadly threat
Photo: TONY VRAILAS / MARINETRAFFIC.COM/ EPA-EFE / ShutterstockThe ship's owner, a Russian named Igor Grechushkin, refused to answer calls from the crew or port authorities and soon faced heavy payment claims, including about $ 100,000 in outstanding wages and port dues.
Mirror Plus
Good reading. Understand more.
Special reports, analyzes and background information on topics that affect our society - from reporters from all over the world.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +:
- Icon: Check
Unrestricted access
to all content on all your devices
Exclusive content
from the weekly magazine
- Icon: Check
Including digital edition
of the weekly magazine
Flexible term
can be canceled at any time
- Icon: Check
Flexible term
can be canceled online at any time
A price
only € 19.99 per month
Start Free Month Buy Now Right Arrow Sign Up Now Right Arrow
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation. 24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed for one month at the current price of € 19.99. You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account. To use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase. With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.
