2/ Due to technical and then security issues, the content of the cargo was stored in the warehouses of the port of Beirut. Apparently, the welding work could be the cause of the explosion. 
3/This case provides a clear example when corruption and organized crime involving some countries (Moldova, Georgia) can have transnational security consequences.
4/ Let’s recall that at that moment in time (Sept. 2013), Moldova was run a coalition of pro-EU forces, while Georgia was in the last month of Saakashvili’s reign (Jan. 2004-Nov. 2013).
The explosive ammonium nitrate was supposed to be used as “fertilizer”, but the Russian businessman who owned it got bankrupt and abandoned the ship and the cargo. More on that from @MoscowTimes themoscowtimes.com/2020/08/05/exp…
The #Moldova’s Naval Agency communicated that the involved vessel, called “Rhosus”, was registered under the Moldovan flag in Feb. 2012. After the Russian owner abandoned the boat in Beirut and stopped paying the annual fees, the Moldovan side cancelled the authorization in 2014.
