Dangerous Cargo Ship From Russia

New addition to hybrid warfare - erratic behavior of dangerous cargo ships

A cargo ship filled with 20.000 tons of ammonium nitrate coming from Russia is struggling to find a harbor that will receive it and has been roaming for a week now, apparently without any determination to reach an agreed destination. Ammonium nitrate has caused thousands of deaths, by huge explosions like the one in the harbor of Beirut in 2020 that killed hundreds and damaged buildings in a large part of the harbor and the town itself. It is also used by terrorists to build big bombs like the one in Oklahoma City in 1995 that destroyed a government building and killed scores.

The cargo vessel Ruby departed from Kandalaksha on the Kola Peninsula in northern Russia on 22 August for what at the time was reported as the destination of Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Having rounded the north of the Kola Peninsula, the ship asked for shelter in the fjord leading into the Norwegian town of Tromsø, citing a rising storm and some damage incurred to the rudder and propeller when exiting the Kandalaksha harbor.

Permission was granted, as it is customary in bad weather conditions, and the ship entered the harbor of Tromsø. The police then reported to the Norwegian Maritime Authority what the cargo was declared to be and that the ship requested repairs. Excerpt from the authorities’ report:

The Malta-registered cargo ship Ruby has applied for an emergency port in the port of Tromsø. Repairs must be carried out, which it is not desirable to do so close to the city of Tromsø. The police are working together with the Norwegian maritime authorities and a number of other actors to resolve the situation in the best possible way. (Police report)

After discovery that the ship’s documents declared a cargo of 20,000 tons of the dangerous chemical, it was towed to a anchorage position at safe distance of the town. Note that this amount is at least 7 times the amount that caused the devastation in the harbor of Beirut.

For the Directorate, it is important to point out that the ship, as it is now, does not pose a greater risk than when it has been in normal operation/sailing. The ship is approved to carry this type of cargo.

The Norwegian Maritime Directorate will have further dialogue with the flag state of Malta relating to the assessments they will now make for what happens next with the ship. It is the flag state (Malta), as well as the delegated classification society (DNV), which makes the assessments as to whether or not work should be carried out on the ship where it is located. Given the ship's load and location, it will be natural that both the Norwegian Maritime Directorate and other public authorities are close to the assessments that the flag state may come up with. Our priority is safety.

Status of the Coastal Administration: The Norwegian Coastal Administration has ordered the vessel to have a tugboat on site. A safety zone of 500 meters has also been created around the vessel. (Press release)

A few observations from this series of events:

The ship is not Russian and the cargo is not under export restrictions from Russia. Fertilizer is essential for all food producing countries, and Russia is one of the big producers, consumers and exporters, so it is not limited even if it has the explosive properties as well.

The ship is approved for this kind of transport and the problem is not about transporting this cargo around the world. The problem is conspicuous behavior like reporting damage and bad weather conditions even if other sailors thought it appeared somewhat overdone. And entering the harbor without seeking clearance for an allegedly damaged ship with a dangerous cargo - hence it was towed to a safe position outside in a remote arm of the fjord.

As a curiosity, the name of the ship was recently changed, but it is not known if that was by way of a change of ownership or other reasons. Previous name was Lady Amna.

After a few days in the safe zone and some inspection by the maritime auditor DNV, the ship left Tromsø accompanied by a tugboat. The ship messaged that it was redirecting to destination Klaipėda in Lithuania for repairs. They sailed south along the Norwegian coast until just before reaching Danish waters. The sailing went smoothly and apparently without need for the assistance of the tugboat that was required by the Norwegian authorities because the ship still needed repairs. The ship may have been damaged but not in a way that hindered it in proceeding at normal speed.

Before entering Danish waters the ship was told to get pilot assistance for the whole trip until entering the Baltic Sea, normal procedure whenever the authorities have reason to believe there is a risk of loss of maneuverability of a ship with dangerous cargo. At the same time, the authorities in Lithuania announced that they would not allow the ship to dock unless the cargo had been removed before arrival.

Although the main international sailing routes do not run anywhere near to densely populated places, lack of maneuverability is still very dangerous, because the routes are heavily trafficked and difficult to clear in case of a shipwreck. Ironically, this route is one of the very few options for Russia to transport goods by the sea. Further, the Great Belt bridge would most likely not withstand a possible explosion of this strength.

This development led the ship to halt and stay in the waters between Norway and Denmark for a few days, until it was observed to change course and change destination. It is now officially headed for Malta, its flag country or country of registration.

At the time of writing, the Ruby is anchored in the North Sea, just outside the very busy entry to the Channel down to Dover. According to the ship traffic website MarineTraffic, there is a tug nearby, as well as a bunkering (ship fuel) vessel. The relation and the purpose of the ships cannot be deducted from the positions only.

The planned destination is still reported as Malta.

Main observations

The Canary Islands do not have a whole lot of agriculture, being volcanic islands with national parks and living mostly from tourism and out-of-season tropical fruit. It is possible that the fertilizer was intended partially or fully for export to other countries or it was just a planned stopover.

It is not uncommon that a ship’s cargo is traded while it is under way, changing its owner and sometimes also destination. In some cases, a cargo may be sent off without actually knowing the future owner, of seller thinks the market conditions are improving and the price may be better at the time of arrival.

Most of the places where the Ruby has decided to stop or move slowly are of military interest. Tromsø is a NATO harbor and there are numerous installations that are excellent targets for intelligence gathering or even blowing up. The North Sea is full of energy installations, oil rigs, gas platforms, wind turbine parks, pipelines and cables crisscrossing all of the area. The Danish Straits are important for strategic reasons, because Russia has no other way to sail to Saint Petersburg. The south of the North Sea, and the entry into both the Thames River and the Channel are both of strategic interest and teaming with installations.

This leads to thinking that since the behavior of the Ruby is inexplicably erratic at some stages, there might be something else going on. Some observers have suggested that it may be a new kind of hybrid warfare from the Russians. Creating insecurity and fear by challenging the boundaries of decent protection against risk of harming others. Sowing confusion, like we have illustrated in this written piece.

At the same time, the ship could have intended to gather information about two interesting aspects. Specific intelligence about facilities and assets that can become involved in an escalated conflict situation. How well are the foreign authorities prepared for emergencies, are they able to keep each other informed, and coordinate their actions.

This incident seem to indicate that the Russians are trying out new combinations of intimidation and intelligence gathering, and maybe other goals that we cannot guess.

See also the post on other types of Russian activity in the Nordics, by clicking below.