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First pictures emerge of a Russian man whose ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in the port of Beirut

By The Siberian Times reporter

05 August 2020

The 2,750 tonnes cargo of Khabarovsk-born businessman Igor Grechushkin was detained in Lebanon in 2013.

Igor Grechushkin is reported to be still residing in Limassol, Cyprus with his wife. Picture: Ren TV

The Russian father of one, currently reported to be living in Limassol, Cyprus, was accused by the crew of his ship in abandoning both the people and the cargo.

The ship called Rhosus was going under the flag of Moldova from Batumi in Georgia to Mozambique. It was detained in October 2013 by Lebanese authorities after it stopped in Beirut due to a malfunction on board.

The cargo was checked and detained after the port authorities said it was ‘lacking documents and conditions necessary for transportation.’

The crew - eight Ukrainian and two Russian men - was forced to stay on board of the vessel while the owner Grechushkin declared himself bankrupt and ‘abandoned the ship’.

Lebanese authorities agreed to let six out of ten sailors to leave the country, others were left stranded on the ship for almost a year.

First pictures emerge of a Russian businessman whose ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in the port of Beirut

First pictures emerge of a Russian businessman whose ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in the port of Beirut
Four of the crew pictured in the port of Beirut and later in the autumn of 2014 as they returned to Ukraine. Pictures: Boris Prokoshev, Assol Foundation

‘The owner of the ship Igor Grechushkin effectively abandoned the ship and the remaining crew.

'He is not providing us with money, he completely deprived us of all means of communication.

'He told us that he went bankrupt and while I don’t believe him, the most important thing is that he gave up on both the people and the cargo’, wrote captain Boris Prokoshev back in June 2014 in a desperate plea to international organisations, diplomats, authorities of Ukraine and the authorities of the port of Beirut to release them.

Igor Grechushkin is reported to be still residing in Cyprus with his wife.

Their 20 years son Artyom studies computer science in Scotland, it is understood.

There were no comments so far from Igor Grechushkin or members of his family.

Igor Grechushkin is reported to be still residing in Cyprus with his wife (pictured below). Picture: social media

First pictures emerge of a Russian businessman whose ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in the port of Beirut

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It doesn't do any good blaming back and forth. The real situation is there is a country that has been devastated

Rena, usa

07/08/2020 08:06

Well,that was long time ago,got paid for the load though. The ship and crew were of no value, so I abandoned them.

The blame should lay solely on the corrupt Lebanese officials.

Iggy Grech, Khaba Island ,Russia

07/08/2020 04:21

Ian Fleming could not have made this up.

The name is James, Monte Carlo

06/08/2020 23:57

These Beirut authorities who run the port are to Blame, they impound a ship, it’s cargo and crew and hold it hostage while they try to extort excessive fees from the owner. When the owner who cannot come up with the money, they take possession of the ship, cargo and crew. They are a bunch of greedy crooks! Who are they to stand in the way of a business trying to supply fertilizer to some farmers in Africa? They have no right to seize that ship in the first place, that cargo needs to be delivered prior to planting the crops, so it was time sensitive. They drove the owner Of the ship into bankruptcy. They belong in prison for their crime.

Liz Baxter, Dixon Illinois USA

06/08/2020 23:37

At this Time dozens of ships transport ammonium nitrate around the world. It Is usted directly as fertilizar and as precursor for industrial explosives. This russo-cypriot Man Is a scum and criminal for abandoning the ship, the crew and the cargo, but it Is not responsable of this disaster. Neither the owner of the cargo, who Also abandened it in Beyrouth. The ship AND the cargo were under jurisdicción and control of lebanese judges, who ordered it's unloading into Port wharehouses. AND who denied the pleas of custom and Port authorities to sell the cargo for safety reasons

Miguel Tejada-Herrera, Perú

06/08/2020 22:31

i heard of Lebanese government confiscating 10,000 tractor trailers from a US importer for some BS technicality - the government of Lebanon and it’s customs have stolen a lot of assets in the past and now they win the ultimate stupidity prize

Bobrik , atlanta GA

06/08/2020 22:23

Hey, Geo, London, look in the mirror and check your IQ first. Then report to us on what is it you are smoking? Your conspiracy theories are even more amazing than Herbert Wells' fantasies

Nick, USA

06/08/2020 21:36

Lebanon is truly a dirty place, but it not truly deserves this. Now you got the man, name and address, just go fast and keep him!

Alex Olinsky, Russia

06/08/2020 18:04

Lol You people are idiots Whether the guy was wrong or not didn’t matter after the day the government seized the ship and the cargo! I don’t know the rules or laws in regards to shipping That’s a legal issue. 6 years the government had ownership of the seized (pay attention to this word please

Stupid People, California

06/08/2020 18:03

Mr. Grechushkin may be and probably is a fraudster and a scammer doing murky business on seas abandoning his crews to suffer without pays but the cargo of fertilizer has been in hands of Lebanese authorities for years. So Mr. Grechushkin's possible and probable crimes are elsewhere than in this explosion and the accountable people of it are in Beirut's regime.

Jorma Myyryläinen, Espoo/Finland

06/08/2020 18:02

Honestly the timing 2014 goes very synchron with many executed very strange plans by the shadow government. Just think of Maidan, and the exchange of the ruling pope, from benedict to franziskus a jesuit. The soldiers of the church. Under there regime Hitler had his big time. PIUS was a jesuit. Himmler was visiting a jesuit gymnasium. / it does not need so much mathematic to inderstand, that this one time captain, had a mission. And as crazy it sounds, to declare Sea Problems at the hemisphere of Beirut, and the call of duty to secure the fright is just a logic chain of plots, which very possible were the masterplan. Mossad style.

Daniel Astudillo, Deutschland

06/08/2020 17:19

........ according to the article,the consignment of AN was headed for Mocambique ........ .the ship was seized in Beirut,due to it's un-seaworthiness ,,,,,,,,, the AN consignment was then subsequently off-loaded & stored in unsecure circumstances ,,,,,,, why lay blame on Grechushkin ?! .........

Terence Franks, London UK

06/08/2020 15:45

This article made me rewatch Lord of War (2005).

Ice, Slovenia

06/08/2020 14:47

I really don’t see what the point of this article is? It is perfectly legal to ship nitrate, the boat was seized by one of the most incompetent governments on planet earth and their stupidity and complete disregard for their duty of care to the Lebanese people is what caused this, not Greskuchin.

The Lebanese government should be held entirely responsible for this disaster and the head of the Lebanese port authority should be charged with the negligent manslaughter of the people that died.

Zade, Guildford

06/08/2020 14:08

Mass murderer, I hope someone will find him and his wife on Cyprus

Thomas, Basel

06/08/2020 13:30

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