page_title: Port of Beirut
section_title: 2020 Beirut explosions
hierarchical_section_title: Port of Beirut / History / 2020 Beirut explosions
caption_attribution_description: English: Aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosions august Deutsch: Zerstörungen in der City von Beirut nach der Explosionskatastophe 2020
context_page_description: The Port of Beirut is the main port in Lebanon on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut's northern Mediterranean coast, west of the Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean.
  On 4 August 2020, two large explosions, caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate, occurred at the port, killing at least 220 people, and injuring more than 5,000 others. Large sections of the port and its infrastructure were destroyed, including most of Beirut's grain reserves, and billions of dollars in damages were inflicted across the city. The Port of Beirut was forced to close, due to the large-scale damage caused by the explosions, with cargo being redirected to smaller ports, such as Tyre. Prior to the disaster, about 60 percent of Lebanon's imports came through the port, according to an S&P Global estimate.
context_section_description: On 4 August 2020, multiple explosions occurred in the port. At least 157 people were killed and 5,000 were injured; the explosion initially killed several port workers and then expanded into half of the city, killing several residents in their homes and people in buildings and streets. The explosions destroyed large parts of the port, including its warehouses and grain elevator; however, satellite imagery taken after the explosion shows the container port largely intact. As of August 14, the container port was operating.  
  Up to 300,000 people may have been rendered homeless, according to Beirut City Governor Marwan Abboud. Damage estimates are in the billions of dollars, some estimates reaching $15 billion. The cruise ship Orient Queen sank in the port after receiving massive damage.
  The initial explosion may have occurred in a fireworks warehouse, while a subsequent series of much larger blasts came from 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been stored for the preceding six years at a depot at the port, specifically Hangar 12. The ammonium nitrate had arrived at the port in September 2013, on board a Russian-owned, Moldovan-flagged cargo ship called the MV Rhosus. The vessel came from Georgia and was bound for Mozambique, but was abandoned by its owners and crew in Beirut. In six letters over the next three years, port customs officials warned Lebanese authorities about the dangers of the storage of the chemical at the port and asked for authorisation to re-export it, turn it over to the army, or sell it to a Lebanese explosives company. However, no action was taken to remove the stockpile, as all six letters were ignored. Following the explosions which came from the Port of Beirut, the Government of Lebanon placed 16 Port Officials under house arrest, due to questions on the management of the port.
caption: Warehouse damaged by the 4 August 2020 explosion, with container terminal gantry cranes in the background
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