Tianjin Port to cease handling vessels carrying hazardous substances

Tianjin Municipal Transport Commission has ordered Tianjin Port to cease handling tankers and container ships that are carrying hazardous substances, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has revealed.

The Municipal Transport Commission has issued a notice regarding this and did not announce the resuming date of port operations for vessels carrying hazardous substances.

Recently, Tianjin Port temporarily closed all chemical / oil / LPG terminals after the Tianjin warehouse explosion in China.

The massive explosions, which occurred approximately 3km from the nearest container terminal, resulted in the death of at least 114 people, while some 700 have been reported injured.

The warehouse that caught fire was owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics, which specialises in handling dangerous and toxic chemicals.

“The massive explosions, which occurred approximately 3km from the nearest container terminal, resulted in the death of at least 114 people.”

Officials revealed that the dockside warehouse was being used for toxic chemicals and that the blast destroyed buildings, as well as burned out thousands of cars stored nearby the building.

The China Earthquake Networks Center revealed that the first explosion was huge, and the second was even more powerful, the equivalent of 21 metric tonnes of TNT or a 2.9-magnitude earthquake.

Officials are currently carrying out investigations into the cause and the damage of the blast is still being assessed, BBC News reported.

Chinese media reported that bank Credit Suisse estimates the losses could amount to $1bn to $1.5bn.