US lawsuit for Lebanon port explosion victims ‘to move quickly’

Legal action against TGS, a US-Norwegian geophysical services group, is seeking $250m in damages

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  The damaged port silos in Beirut, Lebanon. All photos: Getty images

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  The August 4, 2020 blast left more than 215 dead and 6,000 injured.

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  The blast changed Beirut's skyline.

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  It's nearly two years since the 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded at the port.

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  On April 14, the Lebanese government approved plans to demolish the grain silos.

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  Victims’ families and architects oppose the project, saying the state was, once again, trying to erase one of the country’s many tragedies.

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  A 2021 report by a Swiss firm found the silos might collapse soon and is tilting by two millimetres a day.

A lawsuit filed in the US state of Texas on behalf of some of the victims of Beirut’s port explosion is expected to move quickly, with proceedings likely to begin in the “coming weeks”.

Accountability Now, a Swiss foundation dedicated to ending decades of impunity in Lebanon, filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of nine plaintiffs who are either American citizens or relatives of US victims affected by the blast.

At least 215 people were killed and more than 7,000 injured in the August 2020 explosion caused by ammonium nitrate that ignited at a Beirut port warehouse.

“We expect the proceedings to move quickly and the court to open hearings in the coming weeks,” Zena Wakim, a lawyer with Accountability Now, told The National.

“The court has already acknowledged the receipt of the claim.”

The legal action is focused on TGS, a US-Norwegian geophysical services group, for contracts it reportedly made with Lebanese authorities connected to the port and the plaintiffs are seeking $250 million in damages.

TGS is based in Texas and owns the British firm Spectrum Geo, which the lawsuit accuses of acquiring “highly profitable but suspicious contracts with the Ministry of Energy in Lebanon”.

In 2012, the lawsuit says, Spectrum chartered the Moldovan-flagged vessel Rhosus to carry 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to Beirut.

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  Ibrahim Hoteit, surrounded by the families of the victims of the Beirut blast, addresses the media outside the port of Beirut on the sixth-month anniversary of the explosion in February 2021.

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  Kayan Tleiss sits in front of the shrine dedicated to his brother in his living room in Khalde, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

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  A photograph of Mohammad Tleiss is flanked by an image of the Virgin Mary and a copy of the Quran in Kayan Tleiss’s living room in Khalde in Beirut.

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  Kayan’s mother, holding a photograph of her son, Mohammed, sits outside the port of Beirut on the sixth-month anniversary of the explosion.

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  Tharwat and Nada Noureddine sit in their living groom in Mar Elias in Beirut surrounded by photographs of Tharwat’s brother and Nada’s son, Ayman.

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  Tharwat Noureddine holds a photograph that Ayman kept on his desk in Beirut. The frame was damaged during the explosion.

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  Photographs of Tharwat’s brother and Nada’s son, Ayman, adorn the family's living room in Mar Elias in Beirut. Ayman had returned from five months of training in the US right before the explosion.

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  Salam Iskandar, her husband, Jaber, and their son, Ali, sit in their living room in Borj El Brajneh in the southern suburbs of Beirut, surrounded by photographs of Salam's brother, Hamza, who died in the Beirut port blast. All photos: Oliver Marsden / The National

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  Salam Iskandar holds a photograph of her brother, Hamza, on her lap.

A TGS representative told The National that the company is aware of the lawsuit.

“A response to the lawsuit will be filed once we are formally served. We deny each and every allegation raised in the lawsuit, and intend to vigorously defend this matter in court,” the TGS representative said.

The company expressed confidence that Spectrum acted within the law and will prevail in the case.

“The allegations in the lawsuit attempt to draw a connection to a survey conducted in Lebanon in 2013 by a subcontractor on behalf of Spectrum,” the representative said and added that there were inquiries made about the survey after the blast.

“At that time, a comprehensive investigation was conducted, which confirmed that Spectrum acted diligently in its conduct of the survey and had no responsibility for the explosion,” the representative said.

“We are confident that we will prevail in this matter.”

Tania Daou-Allam, a plaintiff who lost her husband — a naturalised US citizen — in the blast, said she hoped the lawsuit would bring families closer to the truth.

We hope it will “unveil details we're not yet aware of and hopefully shed light on the story of why and how the ship was carrying ammonium nitrate in the first place,” she said.

On August 4, 2020, the heart of Beirut was ripped apart by the explosion, which was heard more than 100 kilometres away in Cyprus.

In the days following the tragedy, it was revealed that Lebanese government officials — including President Michel Aoun and then-prime minister Hassan Diab — knew that the explosive material was being stored unsafely in the port but failed to do anything about it.

An investigation by Human Rights Watch concluded that several Lebanese officials were, “at a minimum, criminally negligent”.

A Lebanese investigation launched in 2020 has so far been undermined by political pressure on the judiciary, preventing testimonies and threatening lead prosecutor Tarek Bitar.

Last December, former Lebanese ministers and MPs succeeded in stalling the investigation for a fourth time. Rights organisations have called officials' refusal to co-operate with the probe obstruction of justice.

To date, no parties have been held legally responsible for the blast.

But the Texas lawsuit is only the beginning, Ms Daou-Allam said.

“We follow up on the chain of causality until we find the responsible parties,” she said.

The Texas lawsuit seeks to force TGS to release the contracts detailing Spectrum’s involvement in the nitrate shipments.

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  Part of the grain silos in Beirut's port collapse as Lebanon marks the second anniversary of a deadly explosion at the site. AFP

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  The silos were damaged during the blast in August 2020. AP

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  The collapse happened as people gathered at the site to mark the anniversary. AP

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  A fire at the silos blazed for weeks before the collapse. AFP

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  Some people in Lebanon believe the government wants to use the fire as an excuse to demolish the silos. AFP

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  Relatives of those killed in the port blast wanted the silos to stand as a memorial to the victims. Reuters

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  Water is dropped from a military helicopter to tackle the fire at the silos. EPA

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  Video footage shows clouds of smoke and dust spreading across the port. AP

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  It is feared that other parts of the site will also collapse. AFP

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  The fire was thought to have been sparked by the remnants of fermented grain in storage. AP

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  Lebanon's caretaker economy minister Amin Salam said the silos were at risk of collapse as the authorities struggled to contain the fire. AP

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  Fire and smoke at the silos at Beirut port. EPA

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  There were no reports of deaths or injuries after the collapse. EPA

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  In April, the Lebanese Cabinet approved the demolition of the silos. EPA

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  A survey had found that the silos were at risk of collapse. AFP

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  Rubble at the port after part of the silos collapsed. Reuters

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  The fire burns at part of the silos that remains standing. Reuters

“We want them to lift the secrecy around a contract that was entered into between Spectrum and the Ministry of Energy in 2012 and to disclose all Spectrum’s communication with third parties,” Ms Wakim said.

The foundation is confident in the evidence it has presented in the lawsuit and that protections under US law will force corporate transparency.

“The evidence we uncovered is sufficient … this is not a frivolous complaint,” Ms Wakim said.

If the case succeeds in forcing TGS to release the contracts, Accountability Now is planning to use this evidence to resume legal action inside Lebanon.

Ms Daou-Allam said part of her motivation for involvement in the lawsuit was to ensure that “every avenue is taken so I can take ensure justice is delivered”.

“[TGS] say they're just subcontractors and that they're not logistical experts. If we keep going around and around like that in the end no one will be held responsible for the blast.”

In June, three separate lawsuits were filed in Lebanon to stop the Lebanese government from demolishing the remains of the Beirut port’s grain silos, which took the brunt of the blast.

The half-destroyed silos are regarded by many in Lebanon as a monument to the victims of the explosion and as a symbol of the political corruption and negligence that led to it.

Ms Daou-Allam is also one of the plaintiffs in one of the suits filed in Lebanon.

“[My husband] has to be vindicated — they all have to be,” she said. “We owe them that.”