Beirut Explosion

* At approximately 1800 hours local time on 04 August 2020, a massive explosion occurred within the Port Area of Beirut, Lebanon.

* Regrettably there have been numerous fatalities and serious injuries and this is obviously the priority of all emergency services at present.

* The President of Lebanon has stated that the explosion appears to have been a result of highly explosive materials, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, being stored in a warehouse in the Port Area which caught fire. The cause of the initial fire is currently not known.

* The Port is without power and is expected to be closed for the next 15 days. This will inevitably cause some delays and logistical problems for vessels and cargoes.

* Whilst we have no immediate reports of structural damage to vessels in the Port, we are already assisting a number of vessels that have reported serious crew injuries and damage to superstructures and accommodation.

* Storage buildings have been extensively damaged in the immediate area of the explosion with significant damage to commercial and residential buildings some 2km away.

* Our extensive experience dealing with the aftermath of a similar explosion in Tianjin in 2015 leads us to believe there will be significant damages to cargoes stored and in transit at the Port area. For instance we are already aware that the Port's only Grain storage facility has been severely damaged.

* We have appointed surveyors on standby to attend. We understand the Lebanese army is currently deployed to the area and this is likely to hamper physical surveys in the immediate future. However we are already investigating the possibility of deploying our Drone Surveys (https://www.wkwebster.com/special/dronesurvey) as well as utilising our eSurveys (https://www.wkwebster.com/special/esurvey) in what are likely to be very challenging conditions.

* Should you insure any of the cargo that was stored within the Port Area of Beirut or experience any transit liability issues related to the explosion and require our assistance, we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible. (https://www.wkwebster.com/contact-us.php)