Russian ‘Floating Bomb’ Ship

A Russian cargo ship dubbed the ‘floating bomb’ is due to dock up at a UK port after reportedly being refused entry by other countries.

Peel Ports Group told shipping magazine GCaptain that the ship, known as the Ruby, will arrive at the port of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk on October 28. It is carrying seven times as many explosives as the one that destroyed Beirut in 2020.

Marine Traffic, a worldwide ship tracking service, reports that the Ruby was anchored off Margate, Kent, earlier this month. However, the ship has now relocated to Norfolk, farther north.

After having to leave the Norwegian port of Tromso on September 4 owing to cargo issues, only three days after docking there to take refuge from a storm, it was first sighted around Kent at the end of September.

Before sailing to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, the cargo ship flying the flag of Malta was loaded with explosives from a port in Kandalaksha, northern Russia, on August 22.

It is understood that the Ruby is loaded with 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which is seven times more than the 2,750 tonnes that exploded in the Port of Beirut in Lebanon, killing 218 people in 2020.

However, after meeting with Shipping Minister Mike Kane earlier this month, Sir Roger Gale, MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, declared that the shipment was secure.

‘I am advised that the cargo, originally destined for Africa, of class 2 ammonium nitrate is safe,’ he wrote on X.

‘Due to damage to the ship, which has not rendered the vessel unseaworthy but requires repair [and] negotiations are ongoing to unload the cargo.’

He also added: ‘[I] am led to believe that the legal situation is that because the ship itself is neither Russian owned nor flagged, no international law has been broken or sanctions breached.’ 

The Ruby’s rudder, hull, and propeller were damaged, but after a few days, officials demanded the ship go as villagers’ concerns increased, according to Newsweek.

The ship was anchored close to hundreds of residences, a hospital, and a university campus, which alarmed the locals.

According to Newsweek, authorities did not outright say the ship would erupt; however, they did say it was ‘not desirable’ for the vessel to be so close to the Norwegian city.

Marine Traffic claims that the Ruby departed Norway and headed northward, passing close to the municipality of Andoy.

The decision was made to pump 37.5 million kroner into the Andoya Air Station, which was constructed in 1951, following a NATO meeting. 

The funds were intended for the defence of the air base, which would eventually be used to monitor the oceans with long-range drones.

In May, the Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said: ‘Andoya plays an important role in national security, allied defence and technological development.

‘The growing military-strategic significance of the base for Norway and NATO requires that we continue manned guarding.’

The UK door seems to be open to everyone and everything at all times, and to be honest I don’t trust any official who tells us we are safe, and whoever sanctioned this will have to face the consequences if anything goes wrong, and why does the UK have to be a dumping ground for other countries?

Money my friend – money!