Ammonium nitrate challenges

Bulk carrier Ruby (IMO 9626390) continues to cause difficulties for marine authorities after several weeks of touring northern Europe with mechanical difficulties and a 20,000 tonne load of ammonium nitrate. Following a storm in the Barents Sea, the ship had suffered a mechanical problem and called in at Tromso, northern Norway. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Lithuania then placed restrictions on the ship and rejected its entry into port. It was then moved to the UK and unloading of the cargo began. However some of the fertilizer was contaminated, potentially making it more risky to handle. The ship then sailed just beyond the 12-mile limit, where it was then understood to have offloaded an undisclosed percentage of its cargo, before returning to port.