Dubai court finds mishandled peroxide caused 2021 port blast
FILE – This Photo made available from a Government of Dubai Media Office’s footage, shows the smoke from a container ship, Ocean Trader after an explosion, July 8, 2021. A Dubai court has found that the cargo ship’s mishandled peroxide caused the explosion, Abu Dhabi’s English-language newspaper, a state-linked newspaper reported Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. The Dubai Misdemeanor Court sentenced five crew members on board the vessel to one-month suspended prison sentences and fined them 100,000 dirhams ($27,225) for not caring for the cargo and allowing fumes to build up, according to the newspaper. (Government of Dubai Media Office via AP, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Dubai court has found that a cargo ship’s mishandled peroxide caused an explosion at the city-state’s busy Jebel Ali port in 2021, a blast that was felt through the emirate, a state-linked newspaper reported Thursday.
Five other companies also have been fined 100,000 dirhams each over their role in the blast, the newspaper said. The peroxide arrived at the port on June 27 from China and was kept in direct sunlight for 12 days until the day of the incident, it added.
The newspaper said the ship’s Indian captain had maintained his innocence; the four other crew charged were from Pakistan. Prosecutors also said the blast injured five people, though authorities at the time insisted no one was hurt.
Pelabuhan Jebel Ali, salah satu pelabuhan tersibuk di Timur Tengah, juga merupakan pelabuhan tersibuk bagi kapal perang Amerika di luar Amerika Serikat.
