Terminals in Tianjin port close after warehouse explosion

All chemical / oil / LPG terminals in Tianjin port have temporarily closed after the Tianjin warehouse explosion in China, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has revealed.

The recent massive explosions have resulted in the death of at least 50 people, while some 700 have been reported injured.

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

“According to the Tianjin Tanggu environmental monitoring station, hazardous chemicals stored by the company concerned include sodium cyanide, toluene diisocyanate and calcium carbide, all of which pose direct threats to human health on contact.”

According to ISS, the port authority has currently arranged some un-berthing of bulk ships although there is currently no schedule for vessels berthing and the re-opening of the terminal remains unknown.

ISS added that the loading / discharge of bulk and general cargo are continuing to operate normally.

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

Greenpeace said: “According to the Tianjin Tanggu environmental monitoring station, hazardous chemicals stored by the company concerned include sodium cyanide, toluene diisocyanate and calcium carbide, all of which pose direct threats to human health on contact.”

According to Chinese media, the blast happened after a shipment of explosives detonated in a warehouse.

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