Gambia News

Gambian authorities seized nearly three tonnes of cocaine from a shipment of industrial salt originating in Ecuador, a spokesman said on Friday, in one of the largest ever busts in West Africa.The 118 bags of cocaine were discovered on Thursday during a search of a container shipped from the port of Guayaquil in Ecuador and through Algeciras in Spain, said Ousman Saidybah, a spokesman for Gambia’s drug enforcement agency.It was not clear where the cocaine was ultimately headed.

Shipping group CMA CGM said on Wednesday it was suspending timber exports from Gambia due to suspected trafficking of rosewood in the West African country.Demand for furniture in China has led to widespread felling of rosewood in West Africa in recent years, despite the variety being protected under the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)."Following several suspicions that undeclared rosewood may have been part of cargo shipments from Gambia, the group has decided to halt its timber exports from the country until further notic

On 28 October 2019 oil giant BP announced a major gas discovery, Orca-1, exploration well in the BirAllah area off the coast of Mauritania.“The deepest and largest discovery so far this year, Rystad Energy estimates Orca-1 holds around 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources,” says Palzor Shenga, a senior analyst on Rystad Energy’s upstream team.Offshore continues to dominate exploration in 2019, both in terms of the number of discoveries and the volume of resources unearthed. Boosted by the find, Mauritania now ties Guyana for the second most discovered volumes this year, trailing closely behind Russia with 1.5 billion boe.“This type of significant discovery…

Media reports about Mozambique’s failure to launch a fishing and security fleet and its subsequent $2 billion debt default seem destined to torpedo, or at least set back similar efforts to build needed coastal security and national fishing fleets across Africa. That must not happen.The systems and equipment Mozambique bought a few years ago from shipbuilder Privinvest could serve as a template for coastal African nations seeking to rightfully benefit from their natural resources…

The European Union and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC GMCP) have a long and effective relation in building capacities to tackle maritime crimes.The EU and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of UNODC started partnering in 2010 to support Eastern African states (Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius and Tanzania) prosecuting piracy incidents off the coast of Somalia.Currently, the EU and UNODC GMCP are jointly working on  capacity building support in Somalia, including training and mentoring of the Mogadishu Maritime Police Unit.The Global Maritime Crime Programme is currently preparing…

High-level officials and decision-makers from maritime and port authorities around the world are undergoing intense training in port management and operational efficiency at the annual Advanced Course on Port Operations and Management based in Le Havre, France (10 September to 12 October).The opening of the course coincided with Le Havre's celebration of World Maritime Day and its theme: International Maritime Organization (IMO) 70 Our heritage – better shipping for a better future.IMO's Chris Trelawny delivered the opening address and lectured on the role of IMO, with a focus on IMO and maritime development.The course includes class-based training and site visits, including to the port of Le Havre.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s mandate on piracy and armed robbery against ships broader maritime security measures has been presented at the International Maritime Seminar for Judges held in Abuja, Nigeria (3-5 July). Gisela Vieira from IMO’s maritime security team provided input as part of a discussion on ‘Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: Legal Interpretation and Judicial Application’. Over 300 participants from across Nigeria’s maritime industry and stakeholders attended the conference, which was designed to update their knowledge on contemporary issues and developments in International Maritime Law. Guests from Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia also attended the event, which was opened by the Hon. Justice Walter N. Onnoghen, GCON, FNJI, Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Niron Staal, the specialist steel machining and construction company within the Damen Shipyards Group, has once again demonstrated its ability to successfully execute one-off projects to the highest standards. This time its client was fellow Damen company Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam (Maaskant) and the contract was for the hulls and superstructures of two Damen Stan Launches 804. While Niron Staal’s core competency is the manufacture of a wide range of specialist steel structures and components for offshore applications…

A collaboration agreement was signed on Thursday 24 May, in the port of Antwerp between on the one side Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the consultancy and investment subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, and APEC, its maritime training centre, and on the other Gambia Ports Authority which manages the port of Banjul in The Gambia. The collaboration, which will mainly take the form of training and consulting, underlines the leading role that the port of Antwerp plays in West Africa. As part of a visit to Belgium the delegation from The Gambia headed by H.E. President Adama Barrow today also called at the port of Antwerp. After a guided tour of the port the programme continued with signature of the collaboration agreement between the ports of Antwerp and Banjul.

In a bid to harmonize port state control inspection procedures that will lead to the elimination of substandard shipping in the West and Central Africa sub-region, the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will host its 3rd Ministerial Conference and 9th Port state Control Committee Meeting with the aim of developing a unified system of Port State Control inspection procedure for the region. The Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for West and Central African Region generally referred to as Abuja MoU is one of the 9 Regional MoUs and national MoU established pursuant to IMO Resolution A.682 (17) of 1991. The Organization operates under a Cooperative Agreement with the IMO.

A regional conference of countries in west, central and southern Africa has committed to continue to work at both national and regional levels to boost preparedness to deal with oil spill incidents which could be devastating both for the marine environment and financially. The conference (6-9 November) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, was hosted by CIAPOL, the Ivoirian pollution control centre. It brought together industry and government focal points from 20 out of 22 west, central and southern African countries covered by the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI-WACAF). This project is run by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

Damen has delivered a road ferry to a client in the Gambia more than a month ahead of schedule. The ferry was built entirely in the Netherlands to a very tight deadline, with the hull constructed in just 70 days at Damen’s subsidiary Niron Staal in Amsterdam. The outfitting was then carried out at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem. Operating from Banjul, the Gambian capital, to Barra, across the mouth of the Gambia River estuary, the passenger and vehicle ferry is designed with a very…

Biofouling – the build-up of aquatic organisms on a ship’s underwater hull and structures – was again on the agenda at the latest in a series of International Maritime Organization (IMO) workshops. The regional workshop in Accra, Ghana (24-26 May) was attended by participants from nine countries (Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe and Sierra Leone). Participants gained a greater understanding of the requirements and implications of ratifying, implementing and enforcing the anti-fouling systems (AFS) convention and implementing biofouling guidelines. The AFS convention regulates anti-fouling systems in order to prevent adverse impacts from the use of anti-fouling systems and the biocides they may contain.

A recent visit to Cabo Verde November 30 to December 6 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) provided an opportunity to meet various government agencies involved with maritime security and discuss the country’s future role in regional maritime security activities. Cabo Verde announced its intention to host the MultiNational Centre of Coordination (for Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal) under the proposed operational framework to support the wider region’s maritime security Code of Conduct, which was signed by governments, including Cabo Verde, in 2013, to enhance cooperation to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea and other illicit maritime activity.

Nine West and Central African countries have agreed to start working towards ratifying IMO’s ship recycling treaty, the Hong Kong Convention, following a workshop in Accra, Ghana (14-16 November).   The event allowed for in-depth discussions and provided details on the specific requirements of the Convention and its Guidelines, with representatives from Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe and Sierra Leone taking part.   The Ghana Maritime Authority hosted the workshop and IMO was represented by Mr. Jun Sun and Captain Dallas Laryea.

Every day migrants and refugees are at risk of drowning as they make the perilous journey to Europe, a voyage which will only become riskier as winter approaches. But thanks to the work of the charity, Save the Children, together with ship owner Vroon and RINA Services, a specifically dedicated rescue ship has been classified to rescue those that run into difficulty when crossing the Mediterranean. In 2016 Save the Children started a project aiming to use a vessel from the Dutch ship owner Vroon to save the lives of men…

More than 5,000 migrants were saved on Tuesday and Wednesday off the Libyan coast and 28 bodies recovered, bringing the total number of people rescued this week to more than 11,000, Italy's coast guard said. More than 20 people were reported to have suffocated in the hold of one overloaded fishing boat, bringing the total death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 50. Italian officials said three women saved on Monday had given birth over the past 24 hours on a coast guard vessel that was bringing some 1,000 refugees to Sicily. The women and their three children were all reported to be in good health. The coast guard said the 4,655 migrants rescued on Tuesday were taken from 33 overcrowded boats…

Many bodies found in the hold of one ship. More than 4,650 migrants were saved on Tuesday off the Libyan coast and 28 bodies recovered, bringing the total number of people rescued in the last 48 hours to nearly 11,000, Italy's coast guard said on Wednesday. More than 20 people were reported to have suffocated in the hold of one overloaded fishing boat, bringing the total death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 50. Italian officials said three women saved on Monday had given birth over the past 24 hours on a coast guard vessel that was bringing some 1,000 refugees to Sicily. The women and their three children were all reported to be in good health.

The designs for a multi access zero emissions cargo ship will be unveiled at the 5th Natural Propulsion Seminar in Wageningen, Netherlands, on Tuesday, May 24. The Fair Winds Trading Company (FWTC) is currently in the research and design stage for this state-of-the-art zero-emissions, low impact sail cargo ship capable of transporting from remote low infrastructure points of production, i.e. micro ports, estuaries and beaches to points of purchase. Their designs are based on the ancient Prao; a multi hull cargo sailing ship of the South Pacific.

Italy's coastguard said it helped rescue 801 migrants from two boats off western Sicily on Thursday, including many Syrians, amid signs that refugees from the Middle East are increasingly shunning the Greek route into Europe. More than a million migrants, many from Syria, have entered Europe via Turkey and Greece in the past year but the number has fallen sharply since March, when Ankara agreed with the European Union to take back refugees landing on the Greek islands. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said the two boats aided on Thursday, which were also carrying some Iraqis, represented the largest such attempted mass migration from Syria and Iraq to Italy for at least a year.

Around forty migrants died in the Mediterranean on Sunday, according to survivors of the journey who arrived on the southern Italian island of Sicily on Tuesday, local Save the Children spokeswoman Giovanna Di Benedetto said. The deaths were reported by some of the roughly 240 migrants from Ghana, Gambia, Senegal and Ivory Coast who arrived in the port of Catania, another Save the Children spokeswoman said. A Maltese merchant ship rescued the migrants from two rubber boats on which they had set off from Libya, where lawlessness has been exploited by traffickers who can charge thousands of dollars to people looking for a better life in Europe.

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has issued the following general advice related to the outbreak of Ebola. Vessels that have recently called in an affected country should contact their local agents prior to arrival at the next ports of call for the latest country specific advice regarding measures taken to avoid the spread of Ebola. ARGENTINA: Pilot companies rendering pilotage services in the River Plate have decided that their pilots will not board any vessel coming from the infected areas (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) until thirty days since the vessel sailed from last port of the infected areas. BENIN (Port of Cotonou): Vessels must notify the harbour master of the 10 previous ports of call 3 days before ETA.

By John A. The western African states have said clearly they do not have the naval, coast guard or customs resources to deal with the piracy evident in the Gulf of Guinea. Further, they do not say, but it is clear, they do not have the money to do it. Piracy is now confined to one principal area. But piracy is similar to blood — a little spilled goes a long way. Piracy will spread elsewhere when and if strong emphasis is put on the Gulf of Guinea. Let us look at the hard facts in this hard business.