Beirut Sends Hazardous Material to Germany for Destruction

Beirut Sends Hazardous Material to Germany for Destruction

The Amoenitas ship is docked at Beirut's seaport near the site of the Aug. 4, 2020 massive explosion, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 1, 2021. (AP)

A German company has removed dangerous chemicals stored in dozens of containers from Beirut’s port and is shipping them abroad as part of efforts to secure the facility following last year’s massive blast, the office of Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s office said 59 containers of “hazardous material were deported” from Beirut’s port on Wednesday.

Germany’s ambassador to Lebanon, Andreas Kindl, tweeted in February that the material has first been treated at the port, and that it is ready to be shipped to Germany. On Wednesday, he said the ship carrying the material has left and will arrive in the German town of Wilhelmshaven in about 10 days.

“It will take weeks to destroy the chemicals that have been in the Port of Beirut for decades,” Kindl tweeted.

The decision to remove the material followed the Aug. 4 blast at Beirut’s port that was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.

Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive material used in fertilizers — had been improperly stored in the port for years.