Port of Beirut

The port has been nicknamed the "Cave of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" due to longstanding reports of corruption, including evasion of customs duties at the port due to bribery schemes and the undervaluation of imports.Timour Azhari, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/officials-knew-danger-beirut-port-years-200805032416684.html Beirut blast: Tracing the explosives that tore the capital apart], Al Jazeera (5 August 2020). In the early 2010s, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi estimated that tax evasion at the port amounted to more than $1.5 billion annually.[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2012/Nov-24/196038-customs-brushes-off-claims-of-tax-evasion-at-beirut-port.ashx Customs brushes off claims of tax evasion at Beirut Port], Daily Star (24 November 2012). The port also earns this nickname for its abandonment of cargo and crew. In the aftermath of massive explosions in 2020, in an apparent industrial accident, Faysal Itani, a political analyst and deputy director of the Center for Global Policy at Georgetown University wrote that the Port, like other aspects of Lebanese society, suffered from "pervasive culture of negligence, petty corruption and blame-shifting."Faysal Itani, [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/beirut-explosions.html Lebanon's Mushroom Cloud of Incompetence], New York Times (5 August 2020).

File:North of Beirut Port.jpg

In 1887, during Ottoman rule, the Port was granted to a French Company, the Compagnie du Port, des Quais et des Entrepôts de Beyrouth (Company of the Port, Quays and Warehouses of Beirut).{{Cite web|title=History|url=http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/index.php/en/history|access-date=2020-08-06|website=www.portdebeyrouth.com|language=en-gb}} The Ottoman administration granted further concessions and autonomy to the company, in managing the Port of Beirut, as it became an important harbour in Lebanon. In 1920, Lebanon came under French Administration, under the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, acting as Greater Lebanon.{{Cite journal|last=Myers|first= Denys P.|date=1 January 1921|title=The Mandate System of the League of Nations|journal= The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |jstor=1014872|volume= 96|pages= 74–77|doi= 10.1177/000271622109600116|s2cid= 144465753|url= https://zenodo.org/record/1448676}}{{Cite book|last=Brunet-Jailly|first=Emmanuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9g5CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA353|title=Border Disputes: A Global Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: A Global Encyclopedia|year=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-024-9|language=en}} This provided the Port with access to French funding and trade. The Port of Beirut would be continue to be operated by the same French Company, which renamed the Gestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth in 1960.{{Cite web|title=Gestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth (GEPB), Lebanon – Company Information, Key People, Latest News and Contact Details |url=https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/company/Gestion_et_Exploitation_du_Port_de_Beyrouth-1001715/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=www.zawya.com|language=en}}

Much of the port was damaged during the Lebanese Civil War, and various parts of the port were under the control of various armed militias.Elizabeth Picard, "The Political Economy of Civil War in Lebanon" in War, Institutions, and Social Change in the Middle East (ed. Steven Heydemann: University of California Press, 2000), p. 294. In 1976, all shipping at the port stopped for nine months due to militia clashes. A 1977 article in the Middle East Economic Digest reported that "not a warehouse or piece of equipment was intact" when the port officially reopened on 15 December 1976.Johnny Rizq, "Beirut Port: Lebanese Resourcefulness Is Put to the Test," Middle East Economic Digest, v. 21, n.25 (24 June 1977), 4–5, cited in Middle East: The Strategic Hub: A Bibliographic Survey of Literature, Headquarters, Department of the Army (1978 ed.), p. 98. The Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia, took control of the port in mid-1986; the militia withdrew in 1989 amid a push from Lebanese Army forces under the command of General Michel Aoun.[https://apnews.com/e2aeea3ebbf85066953302217b0f7ede Christian Militia Withdraws from Beirut Port], Associated Press (23 February 1989). In 1991, Lebanese Forces that had controlled a pier at the Beirut port were ousted by Lebanese Army forces under Emile Lahoud; the seizure was part of broader efforts by President Elias Hrawi to consolidate power in the Beirut area, and coincided with the ouster of the Shi'a Amal from the Ouzai port and the predominately Druze Progressive Socialist Party from the Khalde harbor.Ihsan A. Hijazi, [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/12/world/army-in-lebanon-seizes-militias-smuggling-ports.html Army in Lebanon Seizes Militias' Smuggling Ports]. New York Times (12 March 1991).

After the war, the seaport and surrounding area were reconstructed and again became a major seaport.Sara Fregonese, [https://theconversation.com/the-port-of-beirut-vital-historic-centre-of-a-complex-city-144022 The port of Beirut: vital, historic centre of a complex city], The Conversation (5 August 2020). The port is operated and managed by the Gestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth (GEPB),[http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/history.asp?x=2 History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214053106/http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/history.asp?x=2 |date=14 December 2007 }}, Port of Beirut ("Port Authority of Beirut"). In 1990, the Port of Beirut came under direct ownership of the Government of Lebanon, following the expiration of the company's charter, and continues to be operated by GEPB.{{Cite web|title=Beirut Container Terminal Consortium Website|url=https://www.bctc-lb.com/Port.aspx|access-date=2020-08-06|website=www.bctc-lb.com}}

Since December, 2004, container terminal operations are subcontracted to the private Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC). The terminal quay was expanded to 1100 m and has 16 post-panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes, and extensive on-shore container handling equipment. In addition to exports and imports, the terminal handles significant container transshipments. Traffic has grown from 945,143 TEUs in 2008, to 1,229,081 in 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bctc-lb.com/ |title=Beirut Container Terminal Consortium |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=14 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114125846/https://www.bctc-lb.com/ |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|2020 Beirut explosion}}

File:Aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosions august 6 2020 08.jpg

On 4 August 2020, a series of explosions occurred in the port. At least 204 people were killed (with an additional 3 missing) plus 6,500 were injured; the explosion initially killed several port workers, with the resulting shockwave affecting half of the city, killing several residents in their homes and people in buildings and streets. The explosions destroyed large parts of the port, including its warehouses and grain elevator;Tomas Kristiansen, [https://shippingwatch.com/Ports/article12323178.ece Lebanon's main port destroyed completely in Beirut explosion], Shipping Watch (5 August 2020). however, satellite imagery taken after the explosion shows the container port largely intact.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/satellite-imagery-shows-scale-destruction-after-explosion-beirut-port-n1235910|title=Satellite imagery shows scale of destruction after explosion at Beirut port|date=5 August 2020|first=Ali|last=Gostanian|publisher=NBC News}} As of 14 August, the container port was operating.[https://www.bctc-lb.com/vesselschedule.aspx BCTC Vessel Schedule], accessed August 14, 2020

Up to 300,000 people may have been rendered homeless, according to Beirut City Governor Marwan Abboud.Zeina Khodr, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/hundreds-thousands-left-homeless-beirut-explosion-200805141851282.html Hundreds of thousands left homeless by Beirut explosion], Al Jazeera (5 August 2020). Damage estimates are in the billions of dollars, some estimates reaching $15 billion. The cruise ship Orient Queen sank in the port after receiving massive damage.

The initial explosion may have occurred in a fireworks warehouse, while a subsequent larger blast came from 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been stored for the preceding six years at a depot at the port, specifically Hangar 12. The ammonium nitrate had arrived at the port in September 2013, on board a Russian-owned, Moldovan-flagged cargo ship called the MV Rhosus. The vessel came from Georgia and was bound for Mozambique, but was abandoned by its owners and crew in Beirut. In six letters over the next three years, port customs officials warned Lebanese authorities about the dangers of the storage of the chemical at the port and asked for authorisation to re-export it, turn it over to the army, or sell it to a Lebanese explosives company. However, no action was taken to remove the stockpile,{{Cite news|date=5 August 2020|title=As Death Toll Rises in Beirut Blast, a Search for Answers and Survivors|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion.html|access-date=5 August 2020|issn=0362-4331}} as all six letters were ignored. Following the explosions which came from the Port of Beirut, the Government of Lebanon placed 16 Port Officials under house arrest, due to questions on the management of the port.{{Cite news|date=2020-08-06|title=Beirut officials under house arrest after blast|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53670839|access-date=2020-08-06}}{{Cite web|date=August 5, 2020|first=Charlie|last=D'Agata|title=Beirut port officials placed under house arrest following deadly blasts|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beirut-lebanon-explosion-damage-port-officials-arrested/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en}} On January 16. 2025, it was announced that the investigation about the explosion will resume.{{Cite web |title=Beirut Port explosion investigation resumes as Judge Bitar prepares to question key individuals |url=https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/lebanon-news/831201/beirut-port-explosion-investigation-resumes-as-judge-bitar-prepares-to/en |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LBCIV7 |language=en}}

On 10 September 2020, a large fire erupted in the port area covering the skies of Beirut with toxic gas. The incident occurred in a cooking oil warehouse and food parcels belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),{{cite web |url=https://web.de/magazine/panorama/grossbrand-beirut-geloescht-praesident-spricht-sabotageakt-35074694 |title=Großbrand in Beirut gelöscht: Der Präsident spricht von einem Sabotageakt |website=web.de |language=de |date=11 September 2020 }} then spread to a stock of rubber tires in the port's duty-free zone.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54100251|title=Beirut fire: Large fire erupts in Beirut port area|work=BBC News|date=10 September 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/world/middleeast/beirut-port-fire.html |title=New Fire Erupts in Beirut Port, Just Weeks After Devastating Blast |website=The New York Times |date=10 September 2020 }} Following black smoke rising above the city's skyline, panic broke out due to the fear of another explosion, and motivated people to flee the city, with the addition of the Lebanese governor Marwan Abboud asking the people of Beirut to reduce traffic to roads leading to the port, for the firefighters to act quick with putting off the fires.{{Cite web|last=Azhari|first=Timour|title=Huge fire at Beirut port brought under control|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/lebanon-massive-fire-erupts-beirut-port-area-200910104103251.html|access-date=2020-09-10|website=www.aljazeera.com}}{{Cite news|date=2020-09-10|title=Huge blaze at Beirut port alarms residents a month after massive blast|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-crisis-fire-idUSKBN2611PH|access-date=2020-09-10}}{{Cite web|date=2020-09-11|title=Huge Fire Breaks Out at Beirut Port a Month After Explosion|url=https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/international/2020/09/11/299292.htm|access-date=2020-10-03|website=Claims Journal|language=en-US}} The fire was brought under control, by fire personnel on the ground and by Lebanese Air Force helicopters dropping water.{{Cite web|author=Ghazi Balkiz, Tamara Qiblawi and Eliza Mackintosh|title=Beirut port ablaze, weeks after massive blast|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/middleeast/beirut-port-fire-intl/index.html|access-date=2020-09-10|website=CNN|date=10 September 2020}}

• Beirut Castle

• [http://www.portdebeyrouth.com/index.php/en/about-us Port of Beirut official website]
• [https://www.bctc-lb.com/ Beirut Container Terminal Consortium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114125846/https://www.bctc-lb.com/ |date=14 November 2021 }}

Category:Economy of Beirut

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