Lebanon is seeking the arrest of two Russian citizens in connection with the devastating explosion that tore through the port of Beirut in August.
The government has asked Interpol to issue warrants for the captain and owner of the 3,226-dwt cargoship Rhosus (built 1986) that brought in the ammonium nitrate that exploded, killing nearly 200 people, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The two people were not named in the statement.
Boris Prokoshev, 70, was master of Rhosus when it arrived in Beirut in 2013. He has identified Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman in Cyprus, as the owner.
But flag state Moldova's Naval Agency told TradeWinds in August that Rhosus was owned by Briarwood Corp and bareboat chartered to Teto Shipping, contrary to other media reports naming Teto as the owner.
Moldovan authorities identified Grechushkin as the man behind Teto.
A Lebanese security source and a judicial source confirmed to Reuters that Prokoshev and Grechushkin were the two men for whom warrants were being issued, however.
Grechushkin, 43, was questioned by police in Cyprus in August but not arrested.
Cyprus police spokesman Christos Andreou said the force had received no request from Interpol on Thursday.
No contact
Prokoshev, who is living in Russia, told Reuters he had not heard anything about the warrant request and had not been contacted by any investigators previously.
Rhosus was detained by Beirut port authorities in 2013 due to outstanding debts. The vessel sank there in 2018.
Nearly 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded on 4 August, killing 193 people, wounding about 6,500, and leaving nearly 300,000 people homeless.
Authorities said the substance went up in flames after being stored in poor conditions for years.
Nearly 20 people have been detained in Lebanon after the blast, including port and customs officials.
