Ammonium nitrate that exploded in Beirut was bought for mining, says a Mozambican company

The captain who brought the ammonium nitrate to Beirut 1:00 speaks

(CNN) - The original buyers of the ammonium nitrate that was stranded in Beirut port told CNN they had bought it for use in mining.

Fábrica de Explosivos Moçambique (FEM), a Mozambican explosives manufacturing company, told CNN that it was they who originally ordered the ammonium nitrate that was left in the port of Beirut for nearly seven years.

The order for ammonium nitrate was for the manufacture of explosives for mining companies in Mozambique, the spokesperson said.

"We can confirm that yes, we ordered it," an FEM spokesperson told CNN.

The ammonium nitrate never made it to Mozambique, the source said, instead being kept in a container at the Beirut port for more than six years before exploding earlier this week.

The catastrophic explosion caused widespread devastation in the Lebanese capital and killed at least 154 people, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

FEM told CNN that this was the only shipment of the chemical ordered by the Mozambican firm that never arrived.

This is not common. Not common at all, ”said the spokesperson. “Usually when you place an order for whatever it is you're buying, it's rare that you don't get the merchandise. This is a ship, it's not like something that got lost in the mail, it's a lot. "

The spokesperson has been with the company since 2008 and said similar shipments of ammonium nitrate have not been lost since then CNN has agreed not to release the spokesperson's name due to employee privacy concerns amid a sensitive international history.

The September 2013 shipment of ammonium nitrate began in Georgia, where the chemical was produced. It was transported on the Russian ship Rhosus, which docked in Beirut, where the chemical compound had been stored for more than six years. The shipment never reached Mozambique, the source said.

FEM had worked with an outside trading company to facilitate the transfer of the chemical compound from Georgia to Mozambique. But several months after the ammonium nitrate left Georgia, the spokesperson said the trading company told FEM it would not arrive: 'That trading company has just informed us: there is a problem with the ship, your order will not be delivered. , "Said the spokesman. "So we never pay for it, we never get it."

They added that FEM later bought another order for ammonium nitrate to replace the lost one and that it was delivered. The spokesperson said they had planned to pay "a significant amount" for the chemical on the first order, but the payment was never made.

While the company knew that the ship had been detained in Beirut and later seized by Lebanese officials, the spokesperson insisted that "this was absolutely beyond our control."

The spokesperson said that company colleagues were very "surprised" to learn how long the chemical had been stored in the port, since "this is not a material that you want to have stored without having any use." He further noted that "this is a very serious material and it needs to be transported under very strict transport standards."

The source added, “It is a dangerous material, it is a very powerful oxidant and it is used to produce explosives. But it's not like gunpowder that you just light a match and it immediately goes off like pyrotechnics. It is much more stable.

The amount, 2,750 metric tons, according to attorneys representing the ship's crew, was also small compared to other commercial shipments of ammonium nitrate, the FEM spokesman said.

• Dangerous cargo of ammonium nitrate from a Russian ship was stranded in the port of Beirut for years

"That amount is much less than what we use in a month of consumption," said the source. Adding, “there are some countries in the world with an annual consumption of more than 1 million tons. This was only 2,700 (tons). '

The spokesperson revealed that the Mozambican company learned of its involvement in the story through news reports on Wednesday that spoke of a destination in Mozambique.

“On Wednesday there was some news that the cargo was originally destined for Mozambique. So when that happened, we knew it was probably for us, ”the spokesperson said.

“It is absolutely huge and devastating to see all that (the events in Beirut). And it is with great regret that we see it, "they added. And unfortunately we see our name attached, although we have absolutely no part in it.

Beirut explosion