British chemical company liable for Beirut blast that killed 200, High Court rules

A UK-registered chemical company has been found liable by the High Court in London for the Beirut port blast that killed 200 people.

The judgment was an important first step towards justice after Lebanese and international investigations had failed to hold anyone accountable for the 2020 explosion, one of the lawyers who brought the case told The Telegraph.

“This is the first recognition that there is a party responsible for what happened,” Camille Abousleiman said.

The August blast that destroyed the port and several downtown Beirut neighbourhoods was caused by the ignition of tonnes of ammonium nitrate improperly stored in a port warehouse.

Records showed that 2,750 tonnes of fertiliser was being sent to an explosives company in Mozambique in 2013 when it was unloaded at Beirut's port during a dispute over unpaid transportation fees and the seaworthiness of the vessel transporting it.

While much remains unclear about why the fertiliser was left at the port for so long, lawyers representing the Beirut Bar Association and three victims' families argued that London-based company Savaro remained the legal owner of the ammonium nitrate, and was responsible for its proper storage and any damage caused by it. Abandoning the dangerous chemicals did not absolve them of any duty of care, it was argued.

Lawyers for Savaro initially mounted a vigorous defence against the case but later failed to comply with a June 2022 court order to disclose the company’s beneficial owners. The court then issued a default judgment in favour of the claimants and struck out Savaro’s defence.

The court ordered the defendants to pay legal costs. There will be a further hearing to determine damages.

Savaro – which previously filed accounts as a “dormant” firm –  is not believed to have significant assets and sought to enter liquidation ahead of the court case, meaning a payout for the victims may be unlikely.

'Great achievement' for victims

The Beirut Bar Association released the judgment, dated February 1, on Thursday hailing it as a "great achievement" for victims of the blast.

The civil case also brought forward information that should be helpful to investigators, said Mr Abousleiman, who is a former Lebanese labour minister.

“We hope that this is the beginning of a process bringing those responsible – both inside and outside Lebanon – to justice,” he added.

Such international efforts may be the last avenue for accountability after a domestic probe stalled amid legal challenges from implicated high-ranking officials, including a former prime minister and Lebanon’s chief prosecutor, who the investigating judge sought to charge. The chief prosecutor responded in January by laying unspecified charges of his own against Tarek Bitar, the investigating judge, after he sought to resume his probe.

Other lawsuits over the explosion are under way. In Texas the Swiss foundation Accountability Now and some of the victims' families have filed suit against geophysical services group TGS, which owns a company that allegedly sub-chartered the ship carrying the ammonium nitrate in 2012. Foundation officials said they hoped it would force the company to disclose communications with other parties being investigated.

Mariana Foudoulian, whose sister Gaia died in the explosion, said the UK ruling was an important step towards justice.
“Through this judgment, we can try to access more important details,” Ms Foudoulian told the Associated Press. “This does give us some hope.”