Togo News

The IMO's Facilitation Committee held its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12, in person at IMO Headquarters in London.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) meets annually to deal with matters related to the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports. The Committee also addresses electronic business and aims to ensure that the right balance is struck between regulation and the facilitation of international maritime trade.

A new table published by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) indicates continuing positive performance by the vast majority of the maritime industry's flag states.Merchant ships are required to register under a flag state, which determines the vessel's nationality and gives jurisdiction under which to operate. Flag states have the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under their flag, including those relating to inspection, certification…

The crew of a Togo-flagged general cargo ship bound for one of Ukraine's Danube river ports was evacuated early on Wednesday after an explosion on board near the Romanian port of Sulina, Romanian officials said.The Seama ship reported an explosion early on Wednesday and requested the evacuation of the 12-person crew near Sulina, where the Danube flows into the Black Sea."At the moment the causes ... are unclear, whether it was a mine or merely an explosion in the engine room," Romanian…

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports in August rose by 2% from a month earlier to about 3.85 million metric tons on healthy fuel production, data from traders and LSEG showed.Idle primary oil refining capacity for August was estimated at 3.1 million metric tons versus 2.458 million metric tons in July, Refinitiv Eikon data and Reuters calculations showed.After the full EU embargo on Russian oil products took effect on Feb. 5, Turkey remains the main destination for Russian diesel and gasoil seaborne exports…

The Spanish coastguard rescued two Nigerian migrants who stowed away on the rudder of a ship that arrived in the Canary Islands from Togo, a coastguard spokesperson and the police said on Tuesday.After being rescued on Monday night in the port of Las Palmas, the migrants were taken to a hospital.

Norwegian shipping company Clipper Shipping A.S. has been convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships after admitting that oily bilge water was discharged from the motor tanker Clipper Saturn. As part of the plea, they acknowledged the discharges were omitted from the Oil Record Book. Immediately after the plea entered July 6, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered the company to pay a $1.5 million fine.On Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, 2021, the Clipper Saturn was anchored near Lome, Togo. The chief engineer at the time directed oily bilge water to be transferred into the vessel’s gray water tank and then discharged directly overboard under the cover of darkness.

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports in June rose by 13% from a month earlier to about 3.6 million tonnes as seasonal refineries maintenance eased, data from traders and Refinitiv Eikon showed. Idle primary oil refining capacity for June was estimated at 4.029 million tonnes, down from May, and may fall to 1.683 million tonnes in July, Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations showed. In August, Russia will also cut its oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), potentially yielding more supply for domestic refining and fuel production. Since the full EU embargo on Russian oil products took effect on Feb. 5, Turkey remains the main destination for Russian diesel and gasoil seaborne exports…

Oil and shipping group Monjasa announced it has acquired the oil and chemical tankers Monjasa Thunder (19,991 dwt) and Monjasa Shipper (7,991 dwt) for bunkering and cargo operations across West Africa and in the Arabian Gulf. Both tankers will assume operations during this month.Monjasa said it has already taken delivery of Monjasa Thunder (formerly Solando) in Riga, Latvia and Monjasa Shipper (formerly Pearl Mercury) in Singapore, and the two tankers are currently inbound Lomé, Togo and  Dubai, UAE respectively.

Marine towage provider Boluda Towage announced it has strengthened its partnership with Togo, highlighting its capacity for expansion, growth, and internationalization in the West African nation.The main purpose of this meeting was to evaluate the effectiveness of the public-private partnership between Boluda and Togo, in the framework of the tugboat activities in the Autonomous Port of Lomé. During the meeting, the management of Boluda Towage also announced the arrival of a new tugboat.By allowing access for larger vessels…

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2022, with Latvia noted as having the highest detention ratio, ahead of Bolivia.The report lists highest risk flag administrations based on their 2020-2022 detention ratio as: Latvia (57.14%), Bolivia (31.25%), Togo (7.69%), Curacao (4.88%), Italy (3.39%), Turkey (2.90%) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2.30%).Medium risk flag administrations were Cyprus…

Global fuel suppliers are turning to longer and costlier routes that produce more carbon emissions to move their diesel and other products as Western restrictions on Russian cargoes have reshuffled global energy shipping patterns.As a result of the European Union ban on Russian fuel that started on Feb. 5, tankers carrying clean oil products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and naphtha are traveling between 16 and 18 days to bring Russian supplies to Brazil or U.S. cargoes to Europe…

Russia has started to make ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of diesel near African ports as it seeks transatlantic sales, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.A full EU embargo on Russian oil products on Feb. 5 has boosted Russian diesel exports to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with STS loadings in the Mediterranean helping to shorten eastern routes. Last month, Russia sent about 1.0 million tonnes of diesel to African countries, some of which could be re-exported, traders said."Some volumes could be blended and resold or transshipped to reduce freight costs on the long routes," one trader said.About 42,500 tonnes of diesel…

The French navy on Friday escorted a tanker to port in the Gulf of Guinea after pirates abandoned the vessel and kidnapped some of the crew, the ship's owner told Reuters.The Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker Monjasa Reformer with 16 crew members was hijacked [Saturday, March 25] by five armed assailants 140 miles west of the Republic of Congo's Port Pointe-Noire.The hijackers abandoned the ship late [last] Thursday but took some crew members with them, Danish shipping company Monjasa, which owns the vessel, said on Friday."We have our vessel secured. We have our crew members secured on board, or part of the crew members. So right now we are being escorted by the French Navy," Chief Operating Officer Svend Stenberg Molholt said in an interview.

Russia increased its sea-borne diesel exports by 12% month-on-month in March to 4.5 million tonnes, boosting shipments to other destinations after its products were banned from the EU market, Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations showed.A full EU embargo on Russian oil products went into effect on Feb. 5.Turkey remains the top destination for Russian diesel and gasoil supplies, with its shipments almost doubling last month to about 1.6 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv…

The annual Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table, published today from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), highlights a 25% increase in flag states reporting on seafarer labor standards compared to last year. Each year flag states must report on labor standards as part of their ILO audit commitments. Some of the labor standards specific to seafarers include repatriation of seafarers, accommodation provision, health protection and medical care. This year 67.6% of flag states reported on their ILO audit commitments…

Spanish police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million euros ($114 million) after raiding a cattle ship off the Canary Islands earlier this week, a statement said on Saturday.The ship had stopped at ports in about a dozen countries before Tuesday's raid, and police said drug smugglers had started using livestock ships because it was more difficult for police to trace their illicit cargo."International organisations are reinventing themselves to transport drugs from Latin America to Europe, using livestock to make the control and localisation more difficult," the Spanish police statement said.Police arrested 28 crew members on the Togo-flagged Orion V, which had been trailed from Colombia in an operation by Spanish authorities, the U.S.

When the supertanker Young Yong sailed to the Chinese port of Qingdao in September last year, it had quality certificates for its cargo stating it was transporting Malaysian crude oil, according to the documents reviewed by Reuters.But satellite images and photos show the Chinese-owned ship had loaded the oil four months earlier in Venezuela, an OPEC nation in South America under U.S. oil sanctions.The Young Yong is one of three vessels identified by Reuters that were chartered by little-known companies to export Venezuelan oil and used false documents to conceal its origin, according to shipping documents and 11 sources with knowledge of the trade.Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by U.S.

Maersk Training has named David Skov as its new CEO as the firm looks to expand its presence in the worldwide offshore energy and maritime markets.Skov was previously Regional Head of Terminals, Africa & Middle East at APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller – Maersk. He replaces Johan Uggla, who served as Maersk Training’s CEO for four years.Skov has been with A.P. Moller – Maersk since 1995, where he joined the Maersk International Shipping Education program and has since served…

Chevron Marine Lubricants announced a plan to boost its presence in African ports, extending its joint venture with Akwa Group. Chevron is now an equal partner in Afriquia Lubrifiants, with plans to extend the blending, distribution, and marketing business beyond Morocco to markets in sub-Saharan Africa.The agreement enables theJV to manufacture Chevron’s premium products locally for the first time, including Chevron Marine Lubricants’ product portfolio. The new roadmap includes the export of lubricant products to 14 countries in North and West Africa: Algeria…

Greece will deliver 50 tons of animal feed to the Togo-flagged ElBeik, which has been stuck at sea for nearly three months in the Mediterranean carrying hundreds of cattle rejected by their buyers amid fears of disease, government sources said on Tuesday.The vessel is expected to sail for Spain once the food transfer is completed in the late evening, an agriculture ministry official told Reuters.Spain’s government could not confirm it was expecting the return of the Elbeik, which left the Spanish port of Tarragona in December carrying nearly 1,800 cattle for sale in Turkey.Turkish authorities rejected the animals and another shipment of 800 Spanish cattle aboard the Lebanon-flagged Karim Allah over concerns they had bovine bluetongue virus, turning the vessels into international pariahs.

A shipload of Spanish cattle that had been drifting for months due to concerns over the bovine bluetongue disease docked in Spain on Thursday, the government said, but the fate of the animals remains unclear.The Karim Allah left the Mediterranean port of Cartagena on December 17 carrying 895 cattle destined for sale in Turkey. A second ship, the ElBeik, set sail the next day from Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows.Even though the cattle had clean veterinary certificates, according to Spain’s government, Turkish authorities rejected both vessels and suspended live animal imports from Spain after an outbreak of the insect-borne…

A Togo-flagged cargo ship sank on Saturday after hitting Greek islets in the Aegean Sea but all 16 crew were rescued, the Greek coast guard said.The freighter Sea Bird, which sailed from Ukraine and was bound for Tunisia, sent a distress signal after sailing into rocky islets in the southwestern Aegean Sea, the coast guard said in a statement.Nearby vessels rescued all 16 Syrian crew, a coast guard official said.It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.Three anti-pollution vessels have rushed to the scene to check whether there was any leaking from the freighter, the coast guard added.(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

A Russian Navy destroyer has fended off a pirate attack on a container ship near the western coast of Africa, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.Destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov received a distress signal from Panama-registered container ship Lucia en route from Togo to Cameroon on Monday, the ministry said in a statement, and dispatched a unit of marines on a helicopter to it.The pirates immediately fled, allowing Russian soldiers to free the ship's crew.The Russian destroyer was part of a group patrolling the Gulf of Guinea to ensure the security of civilian navigation.