ASSETFINANCE DECEMBER (M) LIMITED

The chemicals that went up in flames in Beirut's deadliest peace-time explosion arrived in the Lebanese capital seven years ago on a leaky Russian-leased cargo ship that, according to its captain, should never have stopped there."They were being greedy," said Boris Prokoshev, who was captain of the Rhosus in 2013 when he says the owner told him to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to pick up extra cargo.Prokoshev said the ship was carrying 2,750 tonnes of a highly combustible chemical from Georgia to Mozambique when the order came to divert to Beirut on its way through the Mediterranean.

Cyprus has located and questioned a Russian man named in multiple news reports as the owner of the ship that carried a cargo of ammonium nitrate abandoned in Beirut and that exploded in a devastating fireball.A Cyprus police spokesman said an individual, who he did not name, was questioned at his home in Cyprus on Thursday afternoon."There was a request from the Interpol Beirut to locate this person and ask certain questions related to the cargo," the spokesman, Christos Andreou, told Reuters. He said the responses were being passed on to Beirut.He declined to give further information.

Container shipping group CMA CGM said on Thursday that one of its staff who was missing after an explosion that ripped through Beirut port on Tuesday has died.The French-based company in a statement said that two of its staff in Beirut were seriously injured and many slightly hurt.It also confirmed that it was setting up a logistics hub in the Lebanese port of Tripoli, like other shipping firms, and was also offering logistical assistance to the authorities.(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Jon

China's crude imports surged 25% in July from a year earlier, as massive purchases made while prices collapsed in April arrived and as some shipments delayed at ports in June finally cleared customs.China, the world's top crude oil importer, brought in 51.29 million tonnes of oil last month, equal to 12.08 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday.That is higher than the 9.66 million bpd imported in July 2019 but below a previous record of 12.94 million bpd set in June.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday predicted up to 16 more named tropical storms this year, to as many as 25, the highest in the agency's history.The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1, has already produced nine named tropical storms, two of which reached hurricane strength, including Isaias that lashed the North American Atlantic coast this week."We've never forecast up to 25 named storms, so this is the first time," said Gerry Bell, NOAA’s lead hurricane season forecaster in a conference call with reporters.