Story perspectives

Labour Inspectorate Launches Safety Probe After Gunvor Blast

8/14/2026

Summary

Rotterdam Explosion

An explosion at a storage facility in the Port of Rotterdam on August 13, 2026 killed one and injured six.
Gunvor Energy said the blast occurred during routine maintenance on a tank.
Rotterdam police found no immediate evidence of sabotage and kept all scenarios under investigation.
Shell and Rotterdam Port said their port operations and LNG terminals were unaffected.
ExxonMobil shut its 191,000-barrel-per-day refinery after a power outage, then reported normal operations.

Summary

Labour Inspectorate Probe

The Dutch Labour Inspectorate opened a formal workplace-safety probe into the Gunvor Energy facility after the blast.
Two ambulances, fire crews and a trauma helicopter were dispatched to the explosion site.
Police established a crime scene and cordoned off the area while examining possible causes.
A transformer fire caused a major power failure at the port.
Power was gradually restored to industrial companies a few hours after the outage.

1 of 2

Rotterdam Explosion

An explosion at a storage facility in the Port of Rotterdam on August 13, 2026 killed one and injured six.
Gunvor Energy said the blast occurred during routine maintenance on a tank.
Rotterdam police found no immediate evidence of sabotage and kept all scenarios under investigation.
Shell and Rotterdam Port said their port operations and LNG terminals were unaffected.
ExxonMobil shut its 191,000-barrel-per-day refinery after a power outage, then reported normal operations.

1 / 2