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Ivory Coast News

14 Feb 2024

GLO Marine and VMS Group Join Forces for ‘Green’ Vessel Retrofitting

(Credit: GLO Marine)

Retrofit specialist GLO Marine and expert in propulsion systems VMS Group have teamed up to expand their collaboration into comprehensive retrofits and vessel modifications, with a primary focus on decarbonization initiatives.In a strategic move towards advancing sustainable maritime practices, the GLO Marine-VMS Group partnership will prioritize retrofit projects and vessel modifications that align with the latest green technologies.The partnership stems from a series of ‘seamlessly executed’ retrofit project installations…

12 Feb 2024

Altera Hires DOF to Install Voyageur Spirit FPSO Offshore Ivory Coast

Voyageur Spirit FPSO (Credit: Kishorn Port & Drydock)

Altera Infrastructure has hired DOF to install Voyageur Spirit floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit as well as one floating storage unit (FSO) at Eni-operated Baleine oil field offshore Ivory Coast.The project includes the complete installation of seabed mooring systems, flowline between the FSO – a converted shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia - and the Voyageur Spirit FPSO, along with their associated equipment.The contract for the redeployment of the FPSO and the FSO was secured by Altera back in October 2023.Voyageur Spirit is a cylindrical-shaped FPSO…

24 Nov 2023

Eni to Invest $10 Billion in Ivory Coast Baleine Field

Source: Eni

Eni will invest $10 billion in the development of the Baleine field offshore Ivory Coast, which will take place in three phases from 2023 to 2027, Energy Minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly said on Thursday.The Baleine field, where certified reserves are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 3.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, was discovered in 2021 by the Italian energy group off the east coast of the West African country.The field's crude oil production should reach 200,000 barrels per day by 2027, compared with 30,000 barrels per day in 2023, the energy minister said."With a tota

11 Oct 2023

Eni to Deploy Cylindrical FPSO, Converted FSO at Giant Offshore Oil Field in Ivory Coast

Altera Infrastructure has been awarded contracts for the redeployment of the FPSO Voyageur Spirit and the shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia for the Baleine Phase 2 project, located offshore Ivory Coast.The vessels are set for deployment on the Baleine field with a 15-year firm contract. The development of the project will be on a fast-track schedule, with a planned start-up date for Phase 2 in the fourth quarter of 2024. The vessels, Voyageur Spirit and Nordic Brasilia, are currently undergoing life extension work and field-specific modifications at Drydocks World in Dubai. Voyageur Spirit is a cylindrical-shaped FPSO, that previously operated on the Huntington field in the North Sea until 2020.

08 Sep 2023

Sierra Leone Hit by Power Cuts after Turkish Power Ship Switches Off Supply over Unpaid Debt

By Sumbebekos - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45413666

Sierra Leone's capital Freetown has been hit by power cuts after Turkey's Karpowership switched off the electricity supply due to an unpaid debt of around $40 million, the energy minister said on Friday.Minister Kanja Sesay told Reuters that the outstanding amount "was accrued over time because the government subsidizes more than half the cost the ship charges per kilowatt hour".He said the government had to spend more on the subsidy because it charges consumers in the weak local Leone currency…

17 Apr 2023

Hijacked Oil Tanker Recovered in Ivory Coast

A hijacked Singapore-registered oil tanker has been recovered and escorted to Abidjan port in Ivory Coast on Saturday, five days after it was captured by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, the Ivorian military said. On Tuesday, Singapore's port authority said the [Success 9] tanker had been boarded by "unidentified persons" about 300 nautical miles (555 km) off Ivory Coast with 20 crew of various nationalities aboard. A search operation by Ivory Coast's navy backed by a French navy aircraft located the vessel on Saturday, Ivorian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lassina Doumbia said in a statement. "As for the crew, they are safe and sound," he said.

11 Apr 2023

Tanker Attacked by Pirates off Ivory Coast

© Lucia / Adobe Stock

The Singapore-flagged chemical tanker Success 9 has been attacked by pirates. Praesidium International reports the attack occurred on April 10 300NM south of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in the Gulf of Guinea.The number of people that boarded the vessel is unknown, AIS transmission has been lost, and the incident is on-going. Praesidium notes that the vessel regularly travels in the region and was likely involved in bunkering operations.Fuel theft is suspected as a motive for this and other attacks mounted in the region. The Liberian-flagged tanker Monjasa Reformer was attacked in March 2023.

09 Dec 2022

Westwood: Record Levels of FPS Throughput Capacity to be Sanctioned in 2022

©Ranimiro/AdobeStock

As we enter the final month of 2022, a review of the floating production system (FPS) market revealed that some E&Ps have been bold with investments in the development of their oil and gas (O&G) reserves, with a total of 1.9 mmboepd (1.3 mmbpd of oil and 3.8 bcfd of gas) of FPS throughput capacity sanctioned year to date (YTD). This represents a 7% increase on 2021, with Westwood anticipating an additional 180 kboepd of FPS throughput capacity to be sanctioned before the end of the year.

14 Jun 2022

West Africa Market Harbors Positive Potential for MODU Operators

Chart courtesy MSI

The region could be a key growth market for the oil and gas industry going forward, writes Joshua Belo-Osagie, Maritime Strategies International (MSI).Improving sentiment surrounds energy market prospects offshore West Africa, the positive mood underpinned by higher oil prices, reformed regulatory frameworks in key markets including Angola and Nigeria and the discovery of major prospects off the Ivory Coast and Namibia.In addition, the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have only reinforced some of these pre-existing dynamics…

23 May 2022

BW Offshore: One-year Charter Extension for FPSO in Ivory Coast

Credit: BW Offshore

FPSO leasing firm BW Offshore has secured a one-year contract extension for the lease and operation of the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien. The firm period has been extended until the end of Q1 2023.The FPSO is operating on the Espoir field offshore the Ivory Coast for CNR International (Cote D'Ivoire) SARL. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The vessel's firm contract with CNR had been scheduled to expire in 2022, and BW Offshore and CNRI had signed a short-term extension for Espoir Ivoirien from April 4 to May 15, 2022 time to finalize terms for a further contract extension.

24 Mar 2022

Ampelmann, MMA Offshore Team Up for FPSO Support in Ivory Coast

©Ampelmann

Dutch offshore gangway specialist Ampelmann said Thursday it had secured a contract to support maintenance work on a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) in Ivory Coast."An A-type motion compensated gangway has been fitted to MMA Offshore’s DP2 vessel, the MMA Privilege, and has arrived at location. In the coming years, an A-type gangway will ensure smooth and continuous crew change operations from the MMA Privilege to the FPSO," Ampelmann said, without sharing further info on the end client.

17 Dec 2021

Dockers' Strike Threatens Ivory Coast Cocoa Bean Exports

© Photoagriculture / Adobe Stock

A week-long strike by dockers in Ivory Coast's two main ports of Abidjan and San Pedro could hurt cocoa bean exports from the world's top cocoa producing nation after workers blocked access to the ports on Friday.The two ports were at a standstill behind closed gates on Friday morning as stevedores and dockers walked away over demands that the government respect a 2019 agreement to pay them three euros ($3.40) per hour, in line with international standards.They currently earn around one euro per hour.Pierre Guigrehi…

30 Jul 2021

German NGO Sea-Watch Rescues 100 Migrants in Mediterranean Sea

Credit: Sea Watch/Twitter

German NGO Sea-Watch said on Friday it had rescued nearly 100 migrants in the Mediterranean overnight, many of whom were injured, some with severe "fuel burns" - chemical burns caused by exposure to gasoline mixed with seawater.Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months with better weather.According to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1,100 people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have perished this year in the Mediterranean.Late on Thursday…

15 Jul 2021

Ivory Coast's Cocoa Bean Stocks Pile Up as Port Deliveries and Exports Slow

Credit: Photoagriculture/AdobeStock

Deliveries of cocoa beans to Ivory Coast's two main ports have slowed in recent weeks as an energy crisis hit industries in the world's top cocoa-growing nation, exporters and cocoa cooperative officials said on Thursday.A lack of shipping containers due to the pandemic has also contributed to the slowdown, forcing Ivory Coast's cocoa regulator, the Cocoa and Coffee Council (CCC), to limit the issuance of documents that clear bean deliveries at ports for shipment.This has caused a stockpile of more than 80…

15 Jan 2021

Two Die in Incident Aboard BW Offshore FPSO in Ivory Coast

FPSO Espoir Ivoirien - Credit: BW Offshore

Two people died Thursday in an incident aboard BW Offshore's FPSO Espoir Ivoirien, offshore the Ivory Coast, the FPSO owner has informed."At 13:30 local time today, an incident occurred whilst work was being performed in a cargo tank onboard the FPSO Espoir Ivoirien operating on the Espoir field offshore the Ivory Coast. Two fatalities have been confirmed as a consequence of the incident, which was caused by a leakage of hydrocarbons into the tank where the work was being performed," BW Offshore said."Next of kin have been informed.

13 Jan 2021

Maritime Security: Neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea

© Lucia / Adobe Stock

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

15 Jul 2020

Crew Kidnappings Soar in West Africa

Crew kidnappings and violent attacks on vessels in the oil-rich West Africa region have soared in 2020, with 77 seafarers taken hostage or kidnapped for ransom since January, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest piracy report.The Gulf of Guinea off West Africa is increasingly dangerous for commercial shipping, accounting for just over 90% of maritime kidnappings worldwide. Meanwhile, ship hijackings are at their lowest since 1993, the report said.“Violence against crews is a growing risk in a workforce already under immense pressure,” says IMB Director Michael Howlett. “In the Gulf of Guinea attackers armed with knives and guns now target crews on every type of vessel.

02 Jun 2020

Gunvor Returns to Profit in 2019

© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

Energy trader Gunvor Group returned to profit in 2019 after its first net loss a year earlier, helped by record earnings in its U.S. division, and said business so far in 2020 remained strong.The Geneva-based firm, which reported a 2019 net profit of $381 million after a loss of $330 million in 2018, said on Tuesday it was also helped last year by earnings from gas trading and its European refining business.But the group, one of the world's top five oil traders, said revenue dipped to $75 billion in 2019 from $87 billion in 2018.Gunvor, which launched its U.S.

22 Aug 2019

Privinvest’s Deliveries to Mozambique: A Model for Africa

About the Author: Gary Roughead, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Retired), is a former chief of U.S. Naval Operations and former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

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…

16 Jul 2019

Ten Turkish Sailors Seized by Pirates off Nigeria

© pavalena / Adobe Stock

Ten Turkish sailors were taken hostage by armed pirates who attacked a Turkish-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, the vessel's owner said on Tuesday, adding that another eight sailors were left safely aboard.Turkey's foreign ministry said the sailors were seized on Saturday evening. After the pirates left the ship it was taken to Ghana's Tema port, and Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities are working on returning the captured sailors, the ministry said.Shipping company Kadioglu Denizcilik said its ship…

15 Mar 2019

Norden Expands into West Africa

Danish shipping giant Norden is opening an office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as part of the Company’s continued global expansion.The office will generate new business and focus on contributing positively to the development of the region, the dry bulk and tanker owner said in a press release.“Norden opens offices and employs people with a long-term horizon and that is also the case for our move into West Africa. We wish to come even closer to our business partners and increase our business presence and at the same time be part of and help the region develop by investing manpower, know-how, money and time in the maritime sector in Ivory Coast and West Africa…

09 Apr 2019

Piracy Retreating in Q1 2019

The International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) published its report for the first three months of 2019, reporting less incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships than the first quarter of 2018.During the first quarter of 2019, IMB reported 38 incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea, which are 28 less incidents than the first quarter of 2018, which stood at 66.IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre detailed that 27 vessels were boarded, seven vessels were fired upon and four attempted attacks occurred in the first quarter of 2019. No vessels were reported as hijacked for the first time since the first quarter of 1994.“These latest statistics from the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre are encouraging.

17 Jan 2019

Global Piracy Up in 2018, Gulf of Guinea Leads

Piracy increased on the world’s seas in 2018, with a marked rise in attacks against ships and crews around West Africa, the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest annual piracy report reveals.Worldwide, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) recorded 201 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery in 2018, up from 180 in 2017.The Gulf of Guinea remains increasingly dangerous for seafarers. Reports of attacks in waters between the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo more than doubled in 2018, accounting for all six hijackings worldwide, 13 of the 18 ships fired upon, 130 of the 141 hostages taken globally, and 78 of 83 seafarers kidnapped for ransom.The region saw a significant new spike in violence in the last quarter of 2018.