Port of Beirut

Port of Beirut
Port of Beirut in 2003
Map
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Native name
مرفأ بيروت
Location
CountryLebanon
LocationBeirut
Coordinates33°54′10″N 35°31′30″E / 33.90278°N 35.52500°E / 33.90278; 35.52500
UN/LOCODELBBEY[1]
Details
Opened1887
Operated byGestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth (GEPB)
Owned byGovernment of Lebanon
Type of harbourArtificial
Size of harbour1.002 km2 (0.387 sq mi)
Size1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi)
No. of berths16
Employees639
General ManagerBassem Al Qaisi
Statistics
Vessel arrivals2,395 (2009)
Annual cargo tonnage5.8 million tonnes (2009)
Annual container volume1,229,081 TEU (2019)
Passenger traffic6,699 (2009)
Annual revenue$163,486,146 (2009)
Website
www.portdebeyrouth.com Edit this at Wikidata
Beirut Container Terminal Consortium

The Port of Beirut (Arabic: مرفأ بيروت) is the main port in Lebanon on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut's northern Mediterranean coast, west of the Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean.[2]

On 4 August 2020, a large explosion, caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate, occurred at the port, killing at least 218 people, injuring more than 7,000 and rendering 300,000 others homeless.[3] Large sections of the port and its infrastructure were destroyed,[4] including most of Beirut's grain reserves,[5] and billions of dollars in damages were inflicted across the city.[6][7][8] The Port of Beirut was forced to close, due to the large-scale damage caused by the explosions, with cargo being redirected to smaller ports, such as Tripoli and Tyre.[9] Prior to the disaster, about 60 percent of Lebanon's imports came through the port, according to an S&P Global estimate.[10]

On 14 April 2022, Lebanon government ordered the demolition of Beirut’s grain silos, which are at risk of collapse after the 2020 port explosion.[11] On 31 July and 4 August 2022, exactly 2 years after the explosion, the northern parts of the existing grain silos fell down.[12]

  1. ^ "UNLOCODE (LB) – LEBANON". service.unece.org. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. ^ The Economy (Major Sectors of the Economy) Archived 8 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Lebanese Embassy of the U.S.
  3. ^ Cabinet declares state of emergency, port officials placed under house arrest, Daily Star (5 August 2020).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kristiansen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "After blast, Lebanon has less than a month's grain reserves". Reuters. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  6. ^ Regencia, Ted; Alsaafin, Linah; Najjar, Farah. "Lebanon to place Beirut port officials under house arrest: Live". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Years after civil war's end, half of Beirut damaged in catastrophic blast". alaraby. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Explosion at Port of Beirut damages grain silos, terminal: reports". S&P Global Platts. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Vessels diverted following devastating Beirut port explosion". Container Management. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  10. ^ Austin Ramzy (5 August 2020). "What We Know and Don't Know About the Beirut Explosions". New York Times.
  11. ^ "Lebanon to demolish blast-hit Beirut silos". Arab News. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  12. ^ "New Beirut port silo collapse brings back blast trauma". Al Jazeera. 23 August 2022.

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