Thread by @sommervilletv

Beirut is a city of a thousand aftermaths. Four months on from the explosion, we looked at the story of one, The Orient Queen, Lebanon's only cruise liner. it was 500m from the explosion in the port.

we received this picture just after the blast, and enquires from the companies at the port for a high resolution copy, as they were still looking for lost staff members.

The ship was something special, it served only the Arab market. Passengers who could afford it, could travel to Greece and its islands without need for a visa. On the day of the explosion, no passengers were on board, because of Covid. However, 23 crew members were on the ship.

Like many in the city, the crew watched the port fire with wonder. Here they are, moments before, filming the warehouse opposite. Again, like most of Beirut, they didn't know it was packed full of explosive chemicals.

You can see here how close the ship was to the epicentre. Notice how quiet it is. It took a while for help to arrive. With no ambulances, the ships owner called a local TV channel and begged for help. Eventually ambulances arrived.

The offices of Abou Mehri cruises are halfway across town from the port. Here's footage from inside when the blast happened.

Consider how lucky it was that covid, and the timing of the explosion meant that hundreds of offices were empty at this moment.

Back to the port. The ship's hospitality director, Vincenzo Orlandini made it out of the ship, she was wrecked inside, and started the search for missing crewman.

We recently caught up with him in Genoa. "You know, the Orient Queen was not just a ship, it was home to a family. Every summertime from 2012, the same (crew), meet at the same place".

Four crewmen were missing.

Hailey Reta, 36, from Ethiopia, was one of the most popular crewmen, and one of the longest serving. His body was found 250m from the ship, blown there by the force of the explosion.

Mustafa Airout, 29, from Syria wouldn't be found for weeks. He'd gone to see some friends closer to the warehouse. His remains were identified using a DNA match.

Here is Mustafa's wee boy at his father's graveside in Syria. Rest in peace, Hailey and Mustafa.

Two more crewmen, from the Philippines couldn't be found. Miraculously, they'd turn up in a hospital later the night of the explosion. When the second, huge blast hit, they'd been on deck and jumped into the water. It saved their lives. Here they are on their way home.

The Orient Queen was still upright after the explosion. But she was listing heavily.

Inside, the ship was a wreck. These pictures courtesy of french divers who inspected her afterwards.

Here she is today. Because she was in her home port, and with the financial pressures of covid, the ship wasn't insured. The owners have sued the port but like many in Beirut, doubt they'll ever see a penny.

There are many aftermaths. Second from the left, in the ship's kitchen is Michael Villaneuva. He was left badly injured on the dockside. A doctor, who was on the ship doing covid-checks provided medical care.

When we spoke to him in Manila, he'd had four operations, he's now had a fifth. Doctors in Lebanon and the Philippines have saved his leg. He hopes one day to return to the cruise business, and a new Orient Queen. @rcolebourn

The company that owns the ship was once placed on a US sanctions list, but was subsequently removed. Before the explosion the Orient Queen had been in Saudi Arabia, off the coast of the new city, Neom

The Orient Queen had been docked at the other side of the grain silo, where it would have been protected. The Port authority asked for her to be moved. Shortly after the explosion they called the owners and asked them when they'd be moving the wreck, as they needed the space

At the port today the grain is stinking and rotting, the rats grow fat. Looking at this I couldn't help be sickened by the venality of the Lebanese authorities who knew of the dangers at the port and yet took no action, despite warning after warning.

The greatest tragedy for me in the aftermath, was that no one I spoke to expected justice or accountability for this criminal act. Many weren't even angry, it was just a fact of life that corruption goes unpunished here.

I don't think anyone loved the ship more than Mohamad Khalifeh. He lived aboard, and had his wedding there, a gift from the owners. The happiest day of his life he said. What does he do now?

Perhaps Hana Abou Merhi, loved it more. The COO, she would see the ship in and out of port. Capturing it all on instagram. Her daily ritual.

Hana: "we don't want to be resilient. We want to live in peace, to go to work, to go back home... categorising the Lebanese as resilient people is a curse".

Maybe she was just a ship. But she also gave Lebanese people freedom, and work. She took them places, and brought crew here from all over the world. A Lebanese business that grew despite the Lebanese situation. And look what they did to her.

More here bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-… heartfelt thanks to @_rachaelthorn & @leedurant , @GhassanBBC @leenasaidi @FrancescoTosto6 @virmasimonette @amhartrick @rami_rizk @colmonews and to the crew and owners of the Orient Queen