A damaged Dubai-controlled bulker has been turned away from a second European country due to its potentially explosive cargo.
The 37,000-dwt Ruby (built 2012) hit the headlines last week after it was expelled from the port of Tromso in Norway with 20,000 tonnes of the hazardous cargo on board.
The master then sought permission to berth in Klaipeda, Lithuania, for repairs.
But the Delfi website reported that Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has now confirmed the ship will not be allowed to dock.
“The shipment will not be allowed to enter the port,” she told MPs in parliament.
It is reported that the open-hatch bulker’s 19 crew members are mainly Syrian.
Ammonium nitrate, which is used in fertilisers and explosives, caused the disastrous explosion at the Lebanese port of Beirut in 2020, killing more than 200 people.
AIS data shows the Ruby sailed from the Russian city of Kandalaksha on 23 August.
The ship sustained damage to its propeller, hull and rudder in a storm, the Barents Observer reported.
Norway granted the Ruby permission to take refuge in Tromso on 26 August, but police later ordered the bulker out of the port to carry out repairs at an anchorage.
The ship has remained off the coast of Norway.
It is not clear what the vessel’s next move is.
Data from Equasis and Clarksons shows the Ruby is controlled by Serenity Ship Management, which manages 10 bulkers and general cargo ships.
The company has been contacted for comment.
