Russia-Linked ‘Floating Bomb’ Ship With Explosive Cargo Back at NATO Port

A Russia-linked ship carrying 20,000 tons of explosives has reportedly discharged part of its load before returning to the U.K.

Ruby, a Malta-flagged cargo ship dubbed a “floating bomb,” set off from Russia’s northern port of Kandalaksha in August and is docked in Norfolk, England, according to MarineTraffic, a website that provides real-time ship locations.

Several European countries had turned the ship away over fears about its cargo, reported The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper.

However, on October 28, the ship docked in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, with plans of transporting a load of explosive fertilizer to a harbor in the town.

Norfolk County Council said the vessel left the port to discharge some contaminated fertilizer at sea before returning, BBC News reported.

Kay Mason Billig, who leads Norfolk County Council, and Great Yarmouth Borough Council deputy leader Graham Plant criticized the move, saying in a joint statement: “We are extremely concerned that the secretary of state’s representative has agreed that this ship can return to Great Yarmouth.

“That is unacceptable. It should never have come in the first place, due to the potential risk of a major explosion that could have affected residents and businesses across Great Yarmouth.

“On behalf of the people of Yarmouth, we urge the government to halt the return of the MV Ruby.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport told BBC News: “The port and vessel operator have carried out an operation, with advice from the Maritime Coastguard Authority and the Health & Safety Executive, and are content that the MV Ruby and its cargo meet safety standards.

“We continue to support the agencies involved, as well as the local authority.

“The decision to allow the MV Ruby back into Great Yarmouth port was a commercial one, agreed between the ship operator and the port.”

Newsweek has contacted the British Department of Transport for further comment.

Sidharth Kaushal, the sea power research fellow at the defense and security think tank Royal United Services Institute, told Newsweek: “The ‘floating bomb’ description relates to the ammonium nitrate fertilizer the ship is carrying, which is highly combustible.

“This is not a particularly common military tool, although the storage of ammonium nitrate for military uses (it is also used in artillery rounds) can sometimes lead to disasters like the Beirut explosion caused by Hezbollah storing it in the city’s port. Something like this has little to no military value. At most, it’s a form of crude diplomatic signaling.”

Ammonium nitrate is a highly volatile industrial chemical used in fertilizers and explosives, known for its role in several catastrophic incidents. One of the most notable was the 2020 explosion in Beirut, where a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut detonated, resulting in at least 218 deaths. Similarly, in 2015, a series of ammonium nitrate explosions in Tianjin, northern China, killed 173 people and injured hundreds more. ​

The Ruby’s massive haul of explosives contains more than seven times the amount of the blast that ripped through Beirut. In early September, the vessel was ordered to leave Norway.

The Ruby—which has since sustained damage to its propeller, hull and rudder during storms—departed from Kandalaksha with cargo on August 22 en route to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. However, it docked at the industrial port of Tromsø, Norway, on September 3 to seek refuge from a storm, according to the Norwegian online newspaper the Barents Observer.