Weapons for Ukraine caused Turkish port blast rumours

The blast at the Port of Derince on 7 August killed one person and injured at least 12 others.

A few days later, allegations are swirling that the explosion was caused by a shipment of weapons meant for transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“Very strange – after all, no explosive fuels or fertilizers were loaded on this ship. Or maybe there was not only grain but also deadly “toys” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?” implied one pro-Moscow Telegram account.

Neither the local authorities nor the media reported any presence of military equipment at the Black Sea port. Instead media reports suggest compressed wheat dust was to blame.

“Initial evaluations show that an explosion occurred due to wheat dust compression during the transfer of wheat from a ship to the silo,” said Kocaeli governor Seddar Yavuz. “We were told that it is technically possible that a blast could occur due to compression of wheat dust, but we are investigating every possible reason.”

In the pages of the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, a chemical engineer explains this phenomenon in more detail. “When the wheat is transported from the silo to the ship, it is compressed. However, any organic substance is highly flammable and becomes explosive when it turns to dust,” they said.

That means that if the dust is in ‘suspension, in a closed place, such as a container or a silo and it encounters a source of ignition, in particular a spark of mechanical origin’, that’s enough to cause a big blast.