Updated September 24, 4 pm
A Malta-registered ship carrying a massive load of explosive ammonium nitrate will not be allowed into Maltese ports unless it disposes of its cargo beforehand, Transport Malta has said.
A spokesperson for the transport regulator said the MV Ruby - which has marked its destination as Marsaxlokk - was looking for a port to enter for repairs.
Maltese authorities have made it clear that the vessel will only be allowed into Malta if it disposes of its cargo first.
The Transport Ministry later also confirmed that the vessel would only be allowed to dock if it discharges its cargo and subject to available space the the dry dock.
It said that Transport Malta is currently in contact with the vessel's designated person ashore - the person responsible for the vessel's shore-based management - to ensure compliance with international regulations.
They said that the vessel may appear to be heading towards Malta because of data inputted by the crew on the Automatic Identification System.
This is a short-range coastal tracking system used on ships to enhance the ship’s positional awareness, they said.
"Following damage survey, damage stability and hull strength calculations and assessments, temporary repairs and various mitigation measures have been enacted prior to allowing the vessel to proceed to her sailing outwards to discharge her cargo and then head directly in ballast to ship repair yard," a ministry spokesperson said.
"Tug assistance for the full duration of the voyage is one of the primary conditions that has been implemented."
According to the reports, the Malta-registered MV Ruby, currently in the North Sea, is carrying 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, seven times the amount which devasted large parts of Beirut in an accidental explosion four years ago.
The ship is reportedly owned by Syrian interests and chartered to a UAE company.
It departed from Russia's Kola Peninsula in August, with the destination originally indicated on the global ship tracker Marinetraffic as being the Canary Islands.
The ship was damaged in a storm last week and has subsequently been refused entry by Norway, Sweden, Lithuania and Denmark.
On Monday, the vessel set its destination as Marsaxlokk, Malta. On Monday night, a Transport Malta spokesperson said they had not received a request for the vessel to enter Malta.
"There is no request for the ship to enter Maltese ports," a spokesperson for Transport Malta said.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson said the ship has now requested permission to enter Malta.
Sources told Times of Malta that the vessel's owners were exploring various options, one of them being the transfer of the cargo to other, smaller ships.
According to ship tracking service Marine Traffic, the Ruby is due to reach Malta by October 8.