On 17 February 2000, THOR EMILIE was lost. The ship had been chartered by a Swiss company to carry about 2,000 tonnes of oxide zinc ore in bulk from Dunkerque in France to Porto Vesme on Sardinia. The cargo had been transported to Dunkerque on board four barges from the seller of the material, a company in France, and the loading took place directly from the barges to THOR EMILIE.When the ship was about 85 nautical miles south of the island of Ibiza and about 60 nautical miles north of the coast of Algeria, a vehement explosion occurred. The ship sank very quickly. Six members of the crew were lost and only the master of the ship survived the loss.After the loss, it became known that THOR EMILIEs cargo did not consist of oxide zinc ore, but of zinc skimmings, which is covered by the IMOs Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (the Bulk Code) as a product which may generate hydrogen in connection with moisture or water. The material, which is a residual product from galvanisation processes, had been collected from various companies in the area over a period of about six months prior to the loss.When the barges were loaded, the material was loaded from a depot in the open air next to the factory onto trucks by means of a grab and then tipped down into the barges. Later in Dunkerque, the material was transferred from the barges to the cargo hold of THOR EMILIE by means of a crane ashore and a grab.