Operations return at Beirut container terminal

Having suffered only minor damage the Beirut container terminal has resumed operations as shipping lines return to port.

Both Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have confirmed calls to the container terminal after visits were paused because of an explosion on 4 August which caused severe damage to the port area.

It appears that unlike the grain silos and other nearby warehousing the container terminal escaped the worst of the blast, caused by 2,700 tonnes of unsafely stored ammonium nitrate.

The Port of Beirut confirmed that just a week after the accident two ships loaded with containers were able to dock.

CMA CGM said in a social media post that the CMA CGM Nicolas Delmas is the first of its vessels operated by the Beirut container terminal since the explosions.

The French company has also launched a humanitarian ship for Lebanon campaign to ship emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in support of French and international relief efforts.

The campaign will allow for the transport of emergency equipment and essential goods and products provided by the CMA CGM Foundation’s NGO partners and the Group’s partner companies.

Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd said the first vessel on its Levante Express (LEX) Service to call Beirut will be Mona Lisa, on August 14, 2020, and will also deliver import cargo from Fleur N, which omitted Beirut call and discharged it in Damietta.

East Med Express (EME) Service will also reinstate the call, with CMA CGM Musset as the first vessel on August 15, 2020.

Alongside its service reinstatement, Hapag-Lloyd is also reopening booking acceptance for cargo to and from Beirut.

Other vessels scheduled to call at the port in the coming days include the UK-flagged Spirit of Tokyo, Gibraltar-flagged Nordergood and the CMA CGM Musset.

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/operations-return-at-beirut-container-terminal/