Families of Beirut Port Victims File Lawsuit

Family of the victims of Lebanon’s 2020 port blast filed a $250m lawsuit in Texas against a US firm for its suspected links to the tragedy. Accountability Now, a Swiss foundation that supports Lebanese civil society efforts and assists the plaintiffs, said.

Accountability Now also said in a statement that the claim was filed this week against US-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS. The investigation was stalled since December last year according to an Associated Press report.

TGS owns British firm Spectrum Geo, which chartered the Rhosus ship that was carrying the 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate to Beirut. The said material was stored at the Beirut port up until it exploded and killed more than 200 and injured thousands of people on August 4, 2020.

Spectrum had a series of highly profitable, suspicious contracts with Lebanon’s ministry of energy to transport seismic survey equipment allegedly to Jordan aboard the Rhosus, according to Accountability Now. Gebran Bassil, the minister during that time, denied any wrongdoing in connection with the explosion.

Spectrum chartered the derelict Moldovan-flagged Rhosus but the ship never actually set sail. The investigation of the blast has faced political obstruction since day one.

It is still unclear what caused the explosion but the victims want the negligent and corrupted official who allowed the hazardous material to be poorly stored to face justice.

The Accountability Now lawsuit intends to help victims who feel hopeless. “They are not being heard. They have no resources left in Lebanon. The judiciary is totally muzzled up,” Wakim explained.

The plaintiffs are all US citizens including Sarah Copland, the mother of two-year-old Isaac Copland, the youngest youngest victim of the explosion.

"The evidence that will be generated by this lawsuit can also benefit the Lebanese investigation," Wakin said. "The spirit of the claim is to benefit all the victims."