Distressed vessel Ruby’s insurer initiates assessment of damage to enable repairs

In the UK, distressed merchant vessel Ruby’s Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurer, West of England Insurance Services has initiated an assessment of the situation and is working with hull insurers to determine the extent of damage caused to the ship, a company spokesperson told ICIS.

“We can confirm that the vessel is entered with West. At present the hull insurers are working with the shipowners to have the vessel repaired in a suitable location. Necessary checks are being carried out, and various options considered,” Erin Walton, assistant corporate director said in an email.

The UK’s SOSREP (Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention) has been apprised of the situation.

Among other responsibilities, the SOSREP is responsible for reducing the risk to safety and the environment arising from accidents at sea.

The Maltese-flagged general cargo vessel, carrying 21,000 tonnes of Russian ammonium nitrate (AN), finds herself anchored off the UK coast of Kent after her request for docking for repairs were rejected by Norway, Sweden and Lithuania due to the explosive nature of the cargo.

AN is a chemical compound, the nitrate salt of the ammonium cation and is highly soluble in water. Beyond its wide use as a fertilizer, it is also used for explosives.

Some of the challenges the ship faces include finding a country to allow dry-docking of the vessel for repairs, in which case the cargo would have to be unloaded.

Repairs undertaken at anchorage could be done with the cargo on board, but it would be risky, and would also depend on the extent of damage.
Shipping sources said the vessel’s hull and rudder are damaged, among other parts.

The Ruby was loaded with AN at the Russian port of Kandalaksha and originally headed to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands but suffered damage in a storm around Norway.

Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania turned down the ship’s requests to call at their ports in view of the cargo. The ship carries seven and half times more AN than the amount (2,750 tonnes) that caused the blast in Beirut in 2020.
Source: ICIS (By Manuja Pandey)