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Beirut explosive was for Póvoa de Lanhoso company

The 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that exploded, last Tuesday, in the port of Beirut were destined for the Explosives Factory of Mozambique (FEM), which is owned by the Portuguese company Moura & Silva, from Póvoa de Lanhoso.

The news is advanced, this Saturday, by the newspaper Public, to whom a company spokesman guarantees, however, that the cargo was not yet his – the order was placed, but it would only be paid when it reached its destination, the city of Beira, in the north of Mozambique.

“This was a normal order, of a material that the company uses in its commercial activity, always complying scrupulously with all legal requirements and best international practices”, he assured.

According to the Public, the ammonium nitrate seized in the Lebanese capital could probably be used in mines in northern Mozambique.

The chemists who triggered the explosion at the port of Beirut arrived in the Lebanese capital seven years ago, aboard a cargo ship hired by Russia and should never have stopped there.

In 2013, the ship “Rhosus”, with the flag of Moldova and originating from Georgia, made an unplanned stopover in Beirut, en route to Mozambique.

The ship’s owner ordered an unplanned stop to receive additional cargo. But the ship ended up not leaving Beirut, involved in a legal dispute over port charges.

As nobody claimed it and the owner of the ship was accused of abandonment, the cargo was eventually unloaded and placed in a warehouse in the port of Beirut, where it was until Tuesday.

The explosions left at least 154 people injured, a number that may increase even more, given the number of people still missing. There are about 5,000 injured.

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