Damage to shipping by Beruit explosions

On 4 August 2020, a series of explosions occurred in the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The extremely powerful main blast, at the Port of Beirut, which was preceded by fire, left at least 157 people dead, 80 more missing, and more than 5,000 injured. We will discuss the cause of damage and other aspects. The explosions have caused high damage to the entire port infrastructure. To get more information about the Beruit explosion go to our Beruit port explosions 2020 blog.

The cruise ship Orient Queen, berthed nearby, suffered extensive damage. Two members of the crew were killed and seven crew members were injured., and several on board were injured. The ship capsized overnight and sank in the port after receiving massive damage.

The Bangladesh Navy corvette BNS Bijoy, which participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was also damaged. The ship was very close to the site of the explosion.

 

The livestock carrier Jouri was close to the site of the explosion; its AIS stopped broadcasting at the time of the explosion. The cargo ship Mero Star was severely damaged. The cargo ship Raouf H was closest to the site of the explosion. AIS from these ships stopped broadcasting at the time of the explosion.

Two large abandoned livestock carrier ships, Abou Karim I and Abou Karim III, were heavily damaged or destroyed in the explosions. They were laid up at the end of Berth 09, very close to Warehouse 12 which was the epicenter of the explosions. In a photo of the aftermath, one of the ships, Abou Karim I, is unstable and keeling over onto the other ship, Abou Karim III. Shortly afterwards the Abou Karim I capsized.

 

The edible oil tanker ship Amadeo II was completely destroyed in the explosions. The charred remains of the ship could be seen lying on land.

 

 The container ship CMA CGM Lyra was 1.5 kilometers from the site of the explosion and was undamaged.

 

Hapag-Lloyd's offices in Beirut were destroyed. CMA CGM's offices, located a few hundred meters away from the site of the explosion, were severely damaged. One employee died and two were severely injured.