Northern Africa News

Shell is suing Greenpeace for $2.1 million in damages after the environmental group's activists boarded the company's oil production vessel in transit at sea this year, according to Greenpeace and a document seen by Reuters.The British oil and gas major filed the claim in London's High Court. Greenpeace activists boarded the vessel in January near the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to protest oil drilling and traveled on it as far as Norway.In an email to Reuters…

DP World announce Tuesday it has finished integrating its recent acquisitions Unifeeder and Feedertech, creating a feedering and shortsea network serving hundreds of ports across the globe.Unifeeder, which recently acquired Feedertech, operates feeder and shortsea services around northern Europe and throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Africa regions. Feedertech provides similar services connecting ports in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. The…

The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum. These include passenger ferries (including fast ferries), Ro/Pax and cruise ferries operating globally. In selecting “the best” we looked beyond the league tables of “the most” (passengers) and “the biggest” (fleet size).

Britain is recalling two patrol boats from overseas deployments to help deal with an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the country from France, interior minister Sajid Javid said on Monday.Javid said there had been an increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel from France and last week he declared the situation a "major incident".On Monday, following a meeting of officials in London, he said two the additional ships would join three other vessels already working in the channel.He said 230 migrants had attempted to cross one of the world's busiest shipping lanes in December, although almost half were prevented from leaving France.The number is a tiny fraction of those regularly attempting to reach European Union territory by crossing the Mediterranean f

FRS has acquired a majority interest in Clipper. FRS is a global ferry and shipping group, currently operating 60 vessels in 12 countries, and carrier of more than 7 million passengers and 1.9 million vehicles last year on national and international ferry lines. Clipper, operator of Clipper Vacations, is a recognized company in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, offering unique regional travel experiences, including high speed Victoria Clipper ferry services from Seattle to Victoria, and Seattle to San Juan Island.

McMurdo, the most trusted name in emergency readiness and response and a division of Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris – FR0010501015 – ALORO), has been selected by a leading Northern Africa search and rescue (SAR) authority to deploy their next-generation MEOSAR (Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) satellite-aided SAR system. The contract is valued at over €4M (US$4.5M) with a performance period of 16 months. The MEOSAR system, which is the first of its kind in Africa, will include satellite ground stations and mission control and rescue coordination centers. It will also include McMurdo’s new Reference Beacon, which will provide ground system operators with configuration tools…

Greece said that final bids for a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority, operator of its biggest port, were submitted on Monday but the prospective buyers will not be made public until early next month. Alexis Tsipras's government had halted the sale after winning elections in January but resumed the process under the 86 billion-euro bailout deal it agreed with its euro zone partners in the summer. The deadline for final bids was 1700 GMT on Monday. "The procedure for the submission of binding offers for Piraeus Port Authority was completed today," the country's privatisation agency (HRADF) said in a statement. The agency said there will be an announcement on Jan. 12 when the bids will be unsealed.

Greece expects binding bids to be submitted later on Monday for a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority, operator of its biggest port, but will not announce the prospective buyers before early next month, two sources at the country's privatisation agency (HRADF) said on Monday. The leftist government of Alexis Tsipras had halted the sale after winning elections in January but resumed the process under the 86 billion-euro bailout deal it agreed with its euro zone partners in the summer. The deadline for final bids ends at 1700 GMT on Monday. A senior HRADF official said the bidders will not be announced before early January when foreign observers on the agency's board and experts attend the opening of the offers. "Everyone should be present when the offers are opened," the official said.

Captain Joshua Bhatt is a featured speaker at the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2015 Conference in Stamford at the Hilton Stamford Hotel in the Harbor Point Room (Lobby Level). The captain and his crew are responsible for the rescue of more than 500 refugees who were onboard a human trafficking ship from Northern Africa to Europe in October 2014. The Captain’s presentation on March 25 at 4 p.m. will be part of a larger international shipping industry examination of the still growing tragedy. According to the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, more than 200,000 people, including both migrants and refugees, have crossed the Mediterranean Sea fleeing violent chaos in Syria, Libya and other Northern African countries.

Mexican ferry company Baja Ferries said on Tuesday it hopes to close a deal to buy troubled French ferry operator SNCM before November or December. SNCM (Societé Nationale Corse-Méditerranée), which runs routes from cities on France's Mediterranean coast to Corsica and northern Africa, has accrued losses of about 250 million euros ($340.38 million) from 2001 to 2013. In May, Baja said it was in talks with French transport firm Transdev about buying its 66 percent stake in SNCM.

Liebherr Maritime Cranes has received an important order for its mobile harbor crane range from Algeria, Africa. A purchasing association of Algerian port operators has opted for 20 Liebherr mobile harbor cranes (LHM). The purchasing association consists of seven Algerian port companies, which decided to invest in innovative and high-quality port equipment. The mobile harbor cranes will be delivered to various destinations at the Algerian coast, which are Algiers, Annaba, Béjaia, Ghazaouet, Mostaganem, Oran and Skikda.

Classification society ClassNK established a new exclusive survey office in Casablanca, Morocco, which began operation on January 1, 2014. Located on the Atlantic Ocean in northern Africa, Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city and one of North Africa’s largest ports. The new ClassNK Casablanca Office will strengthen ClassNK’s service network in the region, and cover surveys at ports across Morocco, as well as support clients and shipowners in northwestern Africa and the western Mediterranean. The Casablanca Office joins an existing network of 11 offices in the Mediterranean region and is ClassNK’s 6th office on the African Continent. With the establishment of the Casablanca Office, ClassNK now operates a global service network of 129 exclusive survey offices worldwide.

KVH Industries, Inc. provides 60% more capacity for EMEA region of mini-VSAT broadband network. The company has just completed a major upgrade to the mini-VSAT Broadbandsm network that will provide customers in Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa (EMEA) with a 60% increase in satellite capacity. The added capacity was provided by consolidating bandwidth covering two separate regions into one powerful unified beam, and by implementing Variable Coding, Spreading, and Modulation (VCSM) technology provided by ViaSat, Inc., (Nasdaq:VSAT ), KVH's partner in the mini-VSAT Broadband network.

Azamara Quest Exits Drydock with Refreshed Spaces and New Azamara Blue Hull. Azamara Quest, the first of Azamara Club Cruises’ twin boutique ships to undergo refurbishment, emerged today from an eight-day drydock – complete with a refresh of all public spaces and staterooms and a new “Azamara Blue” hull. Named for the cruise line by Navantia Shipyard, the unique navy-blue color tone of Azamara Quest’s hull adds to the elegance of the ship’s silhouette. The cruise line known for…

VT iDirect, Inc., a company of VT Systems Inc, announced that Thrane & Thrane A/S has implemented the iDirect satellite communications platform to support its customers' growing need for high-speed connectivity at sea. Thrane & Thrane is a manufacturer of equipment and systems for global mobile communication based on satellite and radio technology. iDirect is a provider of satellite-based IP communications technology. Thrane & Thrane's newly launched Sailor 900 VSAT system provides a range of fixed broadband data packages, going up to 1024 kbps downlink/256 kbps uplink, and supports multiple voice channels at competitive rates. The system equips ship operators with always-on broadband connectivity to expand crew communications…