A Russian ship loaded with over 22,000 tons of explosives has just docked in a UK port, according to reports.
The docking is provoking fears among Brits within the potential blast radius of the ship dubbed the “Floating Megabomb.”
The ship, called Ruby, has been allowed to dock at a British port after weeks moored off the coast.
The vessel is carrying seven times the amount of explosives that devastated Beirut in 2020.
It was anchored off the coast of Margate, Kent, for weeks amid fears it was too deadly to pass through the busy Channel crossing.
Ruby, which had previously been turned away from ports in several other countries, is now moored near Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, according to the global tracking website Marine Traffic.
It is alongside a facility in Gorleston-on-Sea, with the ship now based just a few hundred yards away from a densely populated residential area, a school, several businesses, and a college.
While the vessel is Malta-flagged, it has been packed with explosives from Kandalaksha in northern Russia.
It steadily made its way to the Canary Islands after it left Russia on August 22.
Ruby is carrying an estimated 22,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, some seven times more than the 2,750 tonnes that devastated Beirut with 218 people being killed.
MP Sir Roger Gale addressed concerns about the vessel when it was moored off the Kentish coast in a thread posted on X.
On October 19, Gale said: “In the light of ongoing concerns expressed about the presence offshore of the MV Ruby I have met recently with the shipping Minister, Mike Kane, and relevant officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other appropriate bodies.
“The MV Ruby, which is currently moored some eleven miles off Margate is a Maltese flagged vessel which was initially anchored in the European Economic Zone outside the twelve-mile limit but moved inshore due to inclement weather conditions in the North Sea.”
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.”
I have of course asked to be kept informed of any developments but I do not believe my constituents face any threat to their security as a result of the presence of this vessel eleven miles off the North Kent coast. 6/6
— Sir Roger Gale (@SirRogerGale) October 19, 2024
Residents have been raising concerns that the ship was anchored close to a university, a hospital, and hundreds of family homes.
Ruby’s cargo, ammonium nitrate, is a common ingredient used in fertilizer.
When stored correctly, the compound is relatively safe.
However, if contained in a large pile incorrectly, it can be potentially explosive.
Professor Geoffrey Maitland, a chemical engineering expert at Imperial College London said:
“If kept isolated and unconfined, it is quite stable…
“However, if it comes into contact with an intense source of heat and ignition, such as a detonator or an intense fire for some time, and is present as a large bulk mass and in a confined space, such as a warehouse, then it can explode.”
Newsweek previously reported that Ruby’s propeller, hull, and rudder were damaged.
Marine Traffic said the Ruby previously left Norway – a country that borders Russia – after making its way to the northern regions of the country.
A majority of nations in Western and Northern Europe have a tense relationship with Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made several threats against countries supporting Ukraine, specifically the UK.
