Massive Russian ship packed with explosive cargo closes in on London

An enormous damaged Russian cargo ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate has ‘anchored’ off the Kent coast just miles from London and seemingly heading for the English Channel.

The MV Ruby, which was refused entry into the Baltic Sea by Danish authorities earlier this week, has travelled south and is now just a few miles from the English coast and the Thames Estuary.

Worryingly the vessel, which has reportedly sustained damage to its rudder and hull, is carrying seven times more ammonium nitrate than the amount with sparked an enormous explosion that destroyed part of the Lebanese capital Beirut in 2020.

According to the ship-tracking site Marine Traffic, as of the time of writing the MV Ruby was “anchored” off the Kent coast just a few miles from Margate and Ramsgate.

Express.co.uk have contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for comment.

Scandinavian authorities, including Norway and Denmark, have refused access for the MV Ruby after it suffered dangerous damage to the hull and rudder on August 22, when it ran aground shortly after leaving the port of Kandalaksha, Russia.

According to the Marine Traffic site, the Russian ship is now heading for Malta, but according to the newspaper Malta Today a spokesperson for the transport ministry said it would not be allowed to dock on the Mediterranean island if it is carrying the explosive cargo.

Confirming the Russian ship had asked for servicing help, they said: “The ship will only be allowed to port in Malta if it empties the cargo, if not, it will not be allowed to enter Maltese territorial waters.”

Worryingly where the MV Ruby sits currently is not far from the World War II wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery which holds around 1,400 tonnes of unexploded wartime ordnance.

And south of the position of the Russian ship lies the English Channel, one of the busiest shipping routes in the world packed with both commercial and civilian craft.

There have been warnings the MV Ruby could be part of a so-called Russian “shadow fleet” of poorly maintained cargo and oil ships that have been active since the war with Ukraine began.

Senior analyst Jacob Kaarsbo from the think tank Europe calls Ruby’s behaviour “suspicious” after the ship stayed close to a NATO base in the Norwegian city of Tromsø and at oil and natural gas installations at Bergen, also in Norway.