Russian ‘bomb’ ship to dock in UK after rejection from other countries

A Russian cargo ship dubbed the ‘floating bomb’ is due to dock up at a UK port after reportedly being refused entry by other countries. The ship, nicknamed the Ruby, is carrying seven times the amount of explosives that devastated Beirut in 2020 and is set to dock at the port of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk on October 28, Peel Ports Group confirmed to shipping publication GCaptain.

Earlier this month the Ruby was anchored off Margate, Kent, according to Marine Traffic, a global ship tracking website, which shows that the ship has now moved further north to Norfolk. It was first spotted near Kent at the end of September after it had to depart from the Norwegian port of Tromso on September 4 due to concerns over its cargo, just three days after it docked there to seek shelter from a storm.

The Malta-flagged cargo ship had been stocked with explosive cargo from a port in Kandalaksha in northern Russia on August 22, before making its way to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. It is understood that the Ruby is loaded with 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which is seven times more than the 2,750 tonnes which exploded in the Port of Beirut in Lebanon, killing 218 people, in 2020.

But Sir Roger Gale, MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, said that the cargo was safe following his meeting with Shipping Minister Mike Kane earlier this month. ‘I am advised that the cargo, originally destined for Africa, of class 2 ammonium nitrate is safe,’ he wrote on X. ‘Due to damage to the ship which has not rendered the vessel unseaworthy but requires repair [and] negotiations are ongoing to unload the cargo.’ He also added: ‘[I] am led to believe that the legal situation is that because the ship itself is neither Russian owned nor flagged no international law has been broken or sanctions breached.’ The Ruby’s propeller, hull, and rudder had been damaged, but following several days authorities insisted the ship leave as fears grew among locals, Newsweek reports.

Residents became increasingly concerned as the ship was anchored near a university campus, a hospital, as well as hundreds of homes. According to Newsweek, authorities did not outright say the ship would erupt however they did say it was ‘not desirable’ for the vessel to be so close to the Norwegian city.

According to Marine Traffic, the Ruby left Norway and made its way towards the country’s north – near the municipality of Andoy. The decision was made to pump 37.5million kroner into the Andoya Air Station, which was constructed in 1951, following a NATO meeting.

The money was to be used for defending the air base which will eventually be used for the use of long-range drones to monitor the seas. In May, the Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said: ‘Andoya plays an important role in national security, allied defence and technological development.

‘The growing military-strategic significance of the base for Norway and NATO requires that we continue manned guarding.’ The NATO member state opted to invest more in the base following increasing tensions between the diplomatic mission and Russia regarding the conflict in Ukraine, which has now entered its third year. Russia had previously accused NATO of involving itself in the conflict by supplying Ukraine with weapons and military aid.

Russian officials have often suggested they would possibly attack members of NATO as retaliation for helping Ukraine. Ingrida Simonyte, the Prime Minister of Lithuania stated on September 12 that the Ruby would not be allowed to dock at Klaipeda for repairs, according to local media.

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