Indian Ocean Coast News

At least 12 people drowned when a boat capsized near a town on Tanzania's coast, while at least 27 others were rescued, a senior police official said on Tuesday. The boat capsized in the early hours of the morning with an unknown number of passengers onboard, Tanga regional police commander Benedict Wakulyamba told Reuters by telephone. The vessel was en route from Tanga in mainland Tanzania to Pemba, an island in the Zanzibar archipelago in the Indian Ocean. "Twelve bodies, among them five men and seven women, have already been recovered," said Wakulyamba, adding that 27 people had been rescued so far in a continuing rescue operation.

Sharjah Ports Authority, has taken delivery of a Damen ASD Tug 2411, named Al Luolo’ Aya. His Excellency Sheikh Khaled bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Seaports and Customs at the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone presided over the ceremony, which was held at Damen Shipyards Sharjah. Also present were Mahamed Meer Abdelrehman Al-Sarrah, Director of Seaports and Customs, Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, Lars Seistrup, Managing Director of Damen Shipyards Sharjah. The ASD 2411 Tug is fully ‘built in Sharjah for Sharjah’.

Work started last week on an $11bn megaport in Tanzania, funded by China and Oman, which the country’s president said would spark an “industrial revolution” in the east African nation. The new port at Bagamoyo will dwarf the country’s current main port at Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam, approximately 75km  (47 miles) to the south on the Indian Ocean coast,  is the country’s main commercial port but is over its full capacity. President Jakaya Kikwete attended a groundbreaking ceremony and said construction of phase I of the project would take three years. “The construction of the Bagamoyo port and a special economic zone is aimed at realising the government’s goal of bringing about an industrial revolution in Tanzania,” he said.

GAC EnvironHull, part of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC Group, has expanded its eco-friendly, brush-and-diver-free hull cleaning operation to Fujairah, just six months after its global launch. Launched in Dubai in November 2013, the HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is an unmanned hull cleaning unit which uses adjustable pressure sea water jets as the cleaning medium rather than brushes or abrasives, resulting in minimal damage to the antifouling surface. Residues and harmful marine growths captured during cleaning are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner instead of being discharged into the sea as done using traditional methods.

GAC EnvironHull's  hull cleaning solution now available at second UAE port. GAC EnvironHull has expanded itsbrush-and-diver-free hull cleaning operation to Fujairah, six months after its global launch. Launched in Dubai in November 2013, the HullWiper Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is an unmanned hull cleaning unit which uses adjustable pressure sea water jets as the cleaning medium rather than brushes or abrasives, resulting in minimal damage to the antifouling surface. Residues…

For those who are curious about the undersea world but don't want to plunge beneath the waves, there is a safe and dry way to enjoy Neptune's realm. Images of the stunning marine life around the Aliwal Shoal off South Africa's east coast are being beamed onto the Internet for a virtual dive safari via an underwater camera attached to the wreck of a Norwegian ship. The web site can be found on www.africam.com - a site that also offers "virtual safaris" through cameras set up in several South African game parks. "This is the first marine camera of its kind...It gives us an eye on the world that we've never had before," said Mark Addison, a diver responsible for the camera's maintenance.