Explosions rock Tianjin port

Northern Chinese port city damaged, scores killed by massive blasts traced to third-party logistics warehouse operator.    The Chinese port of Tianjin suffered a devastating warehouse explosion late last night, with near simultaneous blasts from the facility killings scores of people and damaging buildings within a 1.5-mile radius.
   There were two blasts – one the equivalent of three tons of dynamite exploding, quickly followed by the second at a magnitude of 21 tons of explosives, according to the BBC and other media outlets.  
   In an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Tianjin Port Development Holdings Ltd. said the explosion happened at 11:20 p.m. at a warehouse for dangerous materials owned by Rui Hai Company in the area of the Tianjin Port International Logistics Center of the Binhai New Area in Tainjin.
   Bloomberg reported that ocean shipping traffic within the port early today has been disrupted. The port, which handles bulk commodities, containers and automobiles, is considered a primary gateway into northern China. The extent of the damage to other logistics and port facilities in Tianjin is still unknown.
   Tianjin Port Development Holdings further told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Rui Hai is not a subsidiary and it did not expect the incident to cause “material loss.” The report sought to minimize concerns, stating “currently the port operations are normal” despite photographs showing widespread damage.
   Situated at the center of the Bohai Rim Region, Tianjin Port Development Holdings said on its website that in 2012 it was the third largest port in China, fourth largest port globally in terms of total cargo throughput ,and China’s sixth largest container port.
   Photographs showed widespread damage to both containers and cars, but it was not immediately clear which facilities had experienced damage.
   Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has operations in the auto terminal at Tianjin and a vehicle processing center there as well, but the company said they were 15-20 kilometers away from the troubled area.
   “It is really very tragic,” said WWL, spokeswoman Anna Larsson. “WWL staff is unharmed, and our joint venture terminal and VPC have only suffered some smaller material damage to buildings.
   “Last I heard the port is closed and no vessels allowed to berth and operate,” she added.