Ivory Coast Holds Ammonium Nitrate Cargo Offshore as Concerns Continues

The Port of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) has decided to hold the cargo ship laden with ammonium nitrate offshore while it reviews safety concerns raised in the community and the local media. It is a continuation of the drama that began in September with bulker Ruby and now with the cargo transferred to the Barbados-flagged cargo ship Zimrida (37,296 dwt).

Concerns were reported in the Ivory Coast that the cargo aboard the vessel might have become contaminated and possibly unstable. The vessel took board nearly all the 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that was first shipped from Russia last summer. The first ship, Ruby (37,000 dwt) was damaged in an Arctic storm and sought refuge in Norway. It was denied multiple ports before finally being permitted to offload its cargo in Great Yarmouth in the UK.

Serenity Ship Management based in the UAE which manages Ruby arranged for the cargo to be transferred to another vessel it manages, Zimrida, as part of the agreement. However, it came out in the British press that some of the cargo had been contaminated with fuel oil. That portion was reportedly dumped by the Ruby into the North Sea. However, concerns are being raised in Abidjan that the cargo aboard the Zimrida might also be contaminated.

Port officials in a statement on January 4 said they had decided to hold the vessel offshore while they were meeting on Monday, January 6, with the buyer of the cargo, the carrier, and customs officials. 

Zimrida had arrived off Ivory Coast on December 30 and had been scheduled to dock this afternoon local time, January 6, in Abidjan. According to the statement, the plan was to offload 3,000 tons of the fertilizer which is in bags. There was no information on where the remainder of the cargo would be going.

The port highlights that ammonium nitrate is a regular fertilizer and that all cargoes landed are subject to strict safety protocols. They said the port of Abidjan handled 20,000 tons of traffic in 2023 and 38,000 tons in 2024.

“This is the place to reassure the Ivorian populations that all goods, entering or disembarking in Ivorian ports, are subject to diligent control by the competent State services, which constantly monitor the health and safety of the populations,” the port authority wrote in its statement.

As of late Monday afternoon, local time, the Zimrida continues to wait offshore according to its AIS signal.