The sight was frightening. If the people across the world who saw the blast on their social media were shaken, one wonders the impact it would have on the residents of Beirut. The day in Lebanon’s capital had begun like any normal day. However, once the fire erupted in the warehouse on the port, all eyes were at the site. The thick smoke transcending towards the sky was heralding about the chaos that would soon occur. The nightmare turned into a reality. The moment the 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate ignited, the blast shook Beirut to its core. The massive mushroom smoke was visible from many miles away from the site. The shockwaves destroyed anything that was in its path. Perhaps Lebanon will never forget August 4, 2020. It was a day that was seven years in the making. According to initial reports, a Russian-owned merchant vessel by the name of The Rhosus docked at the port in Beirut on September 23, 2013. It was making its way from Batumi, Georgia to Mozambique. Onboard, the cargo ship was 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. Because of some financial dues that the cargo vessel had to pay to the port, the authorities did not allow the vessel to travel any further. Another side of the story claims that the company looking after the Mozambican port of Beira informed that it had no information of any vessel arriving with such a cargo. Despite contacting the owner of the vessel, the port authorities of Beirut did not receive any response. By July 2014, the owner had abandoned the Rhosus. According to Al-Akhbar, Beirut’s newspaper, a state security report revealed that the ammonium nitrate at the port posed extreme danger. Another team inspected the port in the early weeks of 2020 claimed that the chemical can blow up Beirut. The incident was a revelation indeed for the port authorities of the world to scrutinize and examine their warehouses to see if any chemical substance is stored The pleasing sights and sounds of the Beirut known for their cultural elements were turned into screams of agony and pain when the city was shaken by the blast. “This is unquestionably one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, far bigger than any conventional weapon,” says Andrew Tyas, an expert in blast and impact engineering in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Eyewitnesses do present a harrowing tale. According to journalist Luna Safwan, “I was at home, sitting on my desk, I had made fresh coffee and opened my laptop. I felt my ears close, suddenly I felt as if a plane was over my house, my desk shook, I ran to tell my dad that there’s an explosion, a second explosion happened at that moment. It took me less than 3 seconds, I was trying to explain to dad (on my left) that there’s an explosion and that we need to move, I turned right, the second explosion happened, my mom and I flew across the room and all the doors were suddenly opened.” On August 4, the blast caused immense damage to human life and property in Beirut. The earthquake-like explosion was felt as far as six kilometers away from the port. Several weddings taking place in Beirut were interrupted, as the bride, groom, and guests were seen frantically finding shelter. The incident was a revelation indeed for the port authorities of the world to scrutinize and examine their warehouses to see if any chemical substance is stored. Precautionary measures must be taken either to dispose of the substance if it has no owner or to store it properly to avert any unforeseen incident. However, several questions must be asked following this incident. If the owner had abandoned the ship then why was such a dangerous chemical compound being kept at the port? Moreover, why did the port authorities did not take any action after the inspection team had warned that the chemical might blow up? The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist