Victims of Beirut port blast file $250 million claims against US firm

Families of victims of the 2020 Beirut port colossal explosion have filed a complaint in a US court against an American firm, saying the company must pay $250 million in damages as it is suspected of involvement in bringing the explosive material to the port.

More than 215 people were killed and about 6,500 wounded in the explosion at Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020, when a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored unsafely at the port for years, detonated.

The explosion, one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions, also flattened the port and swathes of the Lebanese capital. It further left Lebanon’s economy - already reeling from multiple crises, including the breakdown of its banking system, spiraling inflation, and the coronavirus pandemic - in tatters.

On Thursday, advocates of the families of some of the victims told Reuters that they had filed a $250 million claim against US-based firm TGS, alleging that the company is “liable” for damages caused by ammonium nitrate that detonated in the Lebanese capital.

The extremely explosive chemicals arrived at the Beirut port aboard the Moldovan-flagged Rhosus in 2013 and remained at the port until they blew up in August 2020. The Rhosus had been sub-chartered in 2012 by seismic study firm Spectrum, which was acquired by geophysical services from TGS, an American-Norwegian firm, seven years later.

A synopsis of the complaint by Swiss-Lebanese advocacy group Accountability Now says nine victims of the explosion are now suing TGS in a Texas court, stressing that it was responsible for any “wrongful conduct” by Spectrum.

Zena Wakim, a lawyer from the Accountability Now, said she hoped the new complaint would reveal details that could revive Lebanon’s stalled investigation into the explosion.

TGS has already said that it denied “each and every allegation raised in the lawsuit, and intend to vigorously defend this matter in court.”

However, victims say someone must be held accountable.

“In Lebanon, justice has been delayed for two years and this is an added legal venue for us and for all victims,” said Tania Daou Allam, who lost her husband, adding, “We cannot ignore the fact that this company has to be held responsible.”

The investigation into the causes of the blast still continues. Rights groups and families of victims accuse officials of obstructing the probe into the explosion, which has so far failed to hold high-level officials to account or reveal the exact causes of the disaster.

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