An explosion and ammonia leak occurred on a tanker in the Russian port of Ust-Luga

In the Russian port of Ust-Luga, an ammonia leak occurred from the “Eco Wizard” ammonia tanker.

The Russian Ministry of Transport reported a “minor leak of liquid ammonia during an incident during loading” on the “Eco Wizard” ammonia tanker.

The official statement states that the terminal’s emergency services are currently dealing with the consequences of the incident, and a diving inspection of the vessel is also planned. The crew of 23 people was evacuated.

Russian Telegram channels wrote that an explosion occurred on board the vessel during ammonia pumping work at the JSC “Mineralno-Khimicheskaya Kompaniya EuroChem” terminal. As a result, holes appeared in the ammonia tanker’s hull, through which water began to pour in, and the vessel continues to sink. According to MarineTraffic, the Eco Wizard flies the flag of the Marshall Islands and arrived in Ust-Luga from Belgium.

This is the sixth tanker to be damaged by an explosion while calling at Russian ports since the beginning of the year. The previous one was the Vilamoura tanker, which exploded off the coast of Libya. It was carrying about a million barrels of oil.