6


Issue 6 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///NEWS


Huge explosion rocks port of Beirut


The British Ports Association has welcomed a new Special Development Order for key council areas that will fast track the planning processes for Brexit- related border infrastructure at and around ports. However,


it


warns that there is still a lot to be done in a short time. BPA chief executive, Richard called for


Ballantyne “a ambitions swiſt


roll-out of the government’s infrastructure


so


that our gateways to Europe are ready but there could also need to be some pragmatism needed. There is now a huge amount of government activity in this area, but the clock is certainly ticking.” Sensible and measured


implementation of the new border requirements could be essential and further easements may be needed next year at the end of the transition period - but the discussion needs to be held at a high level, he added. New physical and digital


infrastructure could include inspection facilities and IT systems to carry out frontier controls that result from the UK’s departure


from the Single Market and the Customs Union. The Special Development Order


2020 covers 29 councils including Essex,


Halton, Suffolk Hampshire,


Hull, Kent, Liverpool, Medway, Lincolnshire, Portsmouth, Southampton,


and


Thurrock. It grants temporary planning permission for development consisting of the use of land for the stationing and processing of vehicles (particularly goods vehicles) entering or leaving Great Britain, and the provision of associated temporary facilities and infrastructure. The development must end by 31 December 2025, and all reinstatement works must have been completed by 31 December 2026. The government has


introduced emergency legislation to set up a reported 29 potential lorry parks across the UK, to cope with stoppages. However, added Logistics UK


(formerly FTA) policy manager for road infrastructure, Chris Yarsley: “We urge the government to ensure that the sites are placed


in appropriate locations - close to road networks and fully accessible for commercial vehicles; for example, they should be placed away from unsuitable roads and low bridges. And while the lorry parks are likely to be a temporary solution as new systems, processes and demands are embedded post-Brexit, it is important that the authorities remain mindful of local businesses and residents, with road disruption to be kept to a minimum.” Logistics UK is also calling on


the government to ensure that the sites are staffed with qualified officials who have the means and the authority to get a vehicle border ready if the driver does not have the full paperwork required. At a session of the Transport


Committee on 9 September, Under Secretary of State Rachel Maclean said that no definitive lists of potential sites had been produced, but similar lists of sites had been prepared ahead of previous Brexit deadlines. Possible locations in the south of England included the Ashford truck park, Manston airport and the Dover TAP site.


A massive double explosion in the port of Beirut on the aſternoon of 4 August killed dozens of people and leſt many more injured. The blast was caused by 2,750


tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse, and which had been unloaded from a ship impounded at the port in 2013. According to reports, the main explosion was triggered by a smaller fire nearby, possibly burning fireworks. The ammonium nitrate had been aboard the Moldovan- flagged Rhosus, which put into Beirut port aſter suffering technical problems en route from Georgia to Mozambique. Aſter an inspection, the ship was arrested and abandoned by its owners and its cargo was stored in a port warehouse. Ammonium nitrate is not


in itself explosive but can be if


contaminated or stored


incorrectly. The Lebanese government


said that a number of port officials had been put under house arrest while an investigation into the explosion. However, the head of Beirut port and the head of the


customs authority both


Damco says its Beirut team had operations in Lebanon running again within 24 hours of the port explosion on 4 August, thanks to the AP Moller Group-owned forwarder’s business resilience program. Fortunately there were only a few minor injuries across the team.


were reported by local media as saying that they had written to the judiciary several times asking that the material be exported or sold on. The Beirut explosion occurred


a few days before the fiſth anniversary of the huge blast in the Chinese port of Tianjin on 12 August 2015, which leſt 173 dead and injured hundreds of others. It bears some apparent similarities with the Beirut incident; a second, much larger explosion was triggered by an initial blast or fire. In Tianjin the initial fire was thought to have


been caused by an overheated container of nitrocellulose at a hazardous goods warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics. In a statement, insurers the


TT Club said that while it was too early to speculate on the precise cause of the disaster, “from initial reports however it seems that the inappropriate handling of explosive materials and/or the storage of potentially unstable chemicals has been the catalyst. This is a stark warning to those in the industry involved in carrying, handling or storing such goods.”


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