Some 80,000 mt of fertilizers are reported to be stranded in the Estonian port of Muuga, including about 12,000 mt of ammonium nitrate (AN), according to a report by Estonia’s Postimees newspaper.
According to the report, the fertilizer tons – which also include urea and compound fertilizers – are owned by the Swiss subsidiary of Russian fertilizer group Acron, and are stuck at the AS DBT terminal, which is 100% owned by the Acron Group.
Two weeks ago, the Estonian authorities convened a crisis management meeting to discuss the problem of the stranded fertilizer tons, but no solution is yet in sight, according to the report.
There is reportedly particular concern about the potential degradation of the AN.
According to Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), as cited by the report on July 14, the cargo does not pose a risk at this time, but it should be monitored.
The report cites European Union (E.U.) sanctions against AS DBT and Acron Group – as part of wider sanctions against Russia – and that the two companies are unable to use their assets in Estonia or elsewhere in the E.U. as the reason for the fertilizer cargo stranding.
It is unclear from the report when the fertilizer tons arrived in the port of Muuga.
Postimees reported that Acron’s Swiss subsidiary is trying to have the sanctions lifted, at least for one specific transaction, so that it could sell the fertilizer stockpiled in Muuga. But this transaction would also require the permission of the Estonian state, because otherwise it would be a violation of sanctions, according to the report.