FILE PHOTO: A damaged tire is seen beside transport trucks as they wait in a line to be loaded with goods destined for neighboring Mali at the port in Dakar, Senegal April 30, 2020. Picture taken April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

DAKAR (Reuters) - The port of Senegals capital Dakar on Thursday said it had requested the removal of around 2,700 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in its complex - the same volume of the chemical that caused Beiruts devastating port blast this month.

The unidentified owner of the stockpile has found a warehouse to store the industrial chemical outside the city, according to the general directorate of the port, which sits next to Dakars densely populated downtown.

He is currently working with the environment ministry to obtain approval to urgently remove this cargo, it said in a statement that did not say how long the port had stored the goods destined for Mali.

The port strictly adheres to international rules for the management and storage of dangerous materials, it said.

Beiruts port had held 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate for six years without safety measures, before they detonated on Aug. 4, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.

The dramatic situation that Beirut has just experienced prompted the High Commander of Dakars port to take journalists on a tour of the ports facilities to show that security measures are up to standard, the statement said.

The Beirut blast should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, experts say. Commonly used in fertilisers and as an industrial explosive, it is considered relatively safe if handled properly, but has caused some of the worlds deadliest industrial accidents.

Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Giles Elgood

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Senegal port seeks removal of 2,700 tonnes of chemical that caused Beirut blast - Reuters