The ship is approaching Sweden: "On our toes"

Then Sweden can send ships against MV Ruby

Niclas Vent

Published 22.13

The cargo ship Ruby. Photo: Vesselfinder

MV Ruby, with its cargo full of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate, approaches Swedish waters.

During Friday morning, it triggered feverish activity at a wide range of Swedish authorities.

- We have put all our functions on alert and are guarding her, says Jonas Grevstad, head of the Coast Guard in Gothenburg, to GP.

Quick version

• The cargo vessel MV Ruby, with 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, is approaching Swedish waters. The ship is damaged and possibly being towed towards Lithuania, which has triggered preparedness by the Swedish authorities.
• The Coast Guard and MSB have pooled resources to monitor the situation. They assess that the cargo does not pose an immediate danger if handled correctly, but prepare for different scenarios.
• The county administrations in Blekinge and Kalmar, as well as the coastal municipalities, receive regular updates and maintain a high level of preparedness due to the ship's connections to Russia and its sensitive cargo.

The damaged cargo ship MV Ruby, as Aftonbladet was able to report yesterday, is heading south along the coast of Norway with visible direction Lithuania.

The cargo contains 20,000 ammonium nitrate, the same substance that caused the devastating explosion in Beirut in 2020 - but in a much larger quantity.

Extensive damage

Ruby loaded the substance on the Kola Peninsula in Russia in August, but she is said to have subsequently suffered damage to her hull, rudder and propeller.

She is now approaching the Skagerrak, towed by another ship, and she is expected to pass near Swedish waters within a few days.

- We have no information that the cargo would be damaged or threatened, nor that the fuel tanks would be, says Mattias Lindholm, press spokesperson at the Coast Guard.

- Thus, our assessment is that the cargo does not pose any greater threat than it usually does. Ammonium nitrate is not inherently dangerous or explosive. It will be if it is exposed to impact, if it reacts with diesel or strong heat, not if it is transported correctly.

FACTS

The explosion in Beirut

On August 4, 2020, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port of Beirut detonated. The explosion was one of the worst in modern times. At least 235 people were killed, over 7,000 were injured and around 300,000 people were left homeless.

Unclear goal

It is still unclear where the ship is really headed.

- The information we have about the destination is Klajpeda, but it is not clear that the ship will go there. We will see what the master on board and the shipping company come up with for a solution. There we have to wait until there is verified information, says Mattias Lindholm.

During Friday afternoon, MV Ruby passed the south coast of Norway. Photo: Google And Marine Traffic

This morning, the Authority for Community Safety and Emergency Preparedness (MSB) held an extraordinary meeting with the relevant authorities.

- Our primary task is to gather the actors so that the issue can be discussed together. So that in consultation you arrive at who will do what, says Elin Bohman, press secretary at MSB.

On standby

The Coast Guard claims to have put all functions on standby.

It is "the damage and the connections to Russia that raise eyebrows in these times", says Jonas Grevstad, head of the Coast Guard in Gothenburg, to GP.

- We have done that and we have put the preparedness functions on their toes. We monitor this, both from the intelligence operations and the rescue operations from several different authorities, and then we simply get to see how it develops, says Jonas Grevstad.

"Strategically exposed location"

So far, no concrete measures have been carried out, according to Mattias Lindholm.

- Depending on the route, there may be reason for the Coast Guard to follow it with its own vessels, to monitor the towing and keep it under surveillance. In the normal case, there is no need for concrete measures, but we are open to it, he says.

The county board in Blekinge has called together municipalities and other regional actors in the county during the day to give a picture of the situation.

- We follow the development of events carefully and are extra on our toes as Blekinge has a strategically vulnerable location, says Peter Ryman, director of defense at the County Administrative Board Blekinge, in a press release.

The county administration in Kalmar has also warned the coastal municipalities in the county.

- We cooperate with the other five coastal county administrations that lie along the route and then we inform the coastal municipalities, says Christina Karlberg, head of communications at the county administration to DN.

At the moment, the Coast Guard is "not worried".

- On the other hand, we take account of different directions of events and scenarios. We have to do that, says Mattias Lindholm.