„The shipment will not be allowed to enter the port,“ Šimonytė said while answering MPs’ questions in parliament during the Government hour.
The news website delfi.lt reported on Wednesday that the general cargo vessel Ruby had sustained damage in a storm and is currently docked off the coast of Norway, but asked for permission to sail to Klaipėda for repairs.
According to the Norwegian news website the Barents Observer, the ship sailed out of Kandalaksha (Russia) on August 22 with Las Palmas (Spain) in the Atlantic as destination. On its route, the captain asked Norwegian officers to dock due to stormy weather.
It has been reported that the vessel’s crew of 19 mostly consists of Syrian citizens.
Ammonium nitrate is used in fertilisers and explosives. Large stockpiles of ammonium nitrate caused a massive explosion in Beirut in August 2020, killing at least 218 people and injuring 7,000.