Russian owner of cargo ship linked to Beirut port blast is arrested in Bulgaria

Lebanese authorities expected to request extradition

Damaged grain silos stand as a reminder of the Beirut port blast five years after the explosion on August 4, 2020. EPA

Bulgarian police have arrested the Russian owner of the ship that transported ammonium nitrate to Beirut in 2013, seven years before the catastrophic 2020 port explosion.

Igor Grechushkin, owner of the cargo vessel Rhosus, has been detained in Bulgaria nearly five years after a Lebanese judge issued an Interpol arrest warrant for him and the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev.

The vessel owner, who also has Cypriot nationality, was arrested at Vasil Levski Sofia airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus.

Lebanon will request the extradition of Mr Grechushkin for questioning, judicial officials said. If he is not handed over, Lebanese investigators could travel to Bulgaria to question him there, they added. Authorities have 40 days to send the necessary documents to effect such a move, according to Bulgarian law.

The Rhosus was carrying 2,750 tonnes of the highly explosive chemical from Georgia to Mozambique when it made an unscheduled stop in Beirut in November 2013.

The cargo was unloaded, then stored unsafely for years, while the vessel, which had mechanical problems and owed port fees, was abandoned in the Lebanese capital after being declared unseaworthy.

Beirut blast: How warnings were ignored before 2020 explosion

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Despite warnings from some officials, the sacks of ammonium nitrate onboard were unloaded after a court order in 2014 and stored in Warehouse 12 at Beirut port, which lies at the heart of the capital, near densely populated residential and commercial neighbourhoods.

On August 4, 2020, the stockpile of highly combustible chemical exploded, killing more than 220 people, injuring thousands more, and destroying districts around the port.

The Beirut port blast was ranked as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, leaving physical and emotional scars on Lebanon and its people to this day. Justice for the victims remains elusive.

A domestic investigation into the blast, which has been blamed largely on state negligence and mismanagement, is continuing. The judge heading the inquiry, Tarek Bitar, has faced political obstruction and threats that have frequently forced him to suspend his work.

Lebanon’s new government, which came to power this year, has repeatedly said that justice for the blast is a top priority and has publicly vowed to support Mr Bitar.

Lebanon cannot call itself a state without answers to Beirut blast says Justice Minister

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Last month, Justice Minister Adel Nassar told The National that Lebanon “cannot pretend” to be a state if answers are not found to questions about the port explosion.

“A state that is not able to give answers and ensure accountability to its citizens is a state not fulfilling its role,” he said.