Western Africa News

SunStone Maritime Group has announced the long-term summer charter of the Infinity vessel, Ocean Victory, with a new client.From April 2025, the Ocean Victory will be trading in the Mediterranean Sea during northern hemisphere summer seasons for Spanish luxury cruise operator, Alma Cruceros.Alma Cruceros is a Spanish operator planning itineraries covering Spanish destinations in the Mediterranean, as well as Northern and Western Africa and the Canary Islands. The cruise product will be designed for Spanish speaking passengers in all areas from music…

The bodies of four migrants, who died on the Atlantic Ocean in an inflatable dinghy with 34 people on board, and a survivor were brought to Spain's Canary Islands, the local maritime rescue service and an NGO said on Sunday."The ship Miguel de Cervantes has recovered the bodies of the four dead people found yesterday 150 miles southwest of Gran Canaria in a dinghy, from which a survivor was also rescued," the maritime rescue service said on Twitter. The sole survivor was an "exhausted 27-year-old man" who was found by a cargo vessel on the dinghy alongside the bodies, according to tweets by Helena Maleno from Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish non-governmental organization that monitors migratory flows.The survivor…

Brazil's right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro fired the chief executive of oil producer Petrobras - the second in two months - after the company refused to sell fuels at a discount to consumers warning it would lead to diesel shortages. Bolsonaro also called for the election of a new board, according to a statement released close to midnight local time on Monday by the state-controlled company, opening the way to a full executive management shake-up.José Mauro Ferreira Coelho is the third Petrobras CEO fired by Bolsonaro over fuel prices.

Leadership has added a new face in the contracting department at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). Michael Brian Donaldson assumed the role of deputy chief of the contracting office (DCCO) in December, with management responsibility for a team of more than 110 contracting specialists, contracting officers, cost analysts, policy analysts and other contracting professionals.The contracting department at NSWCDD executes several thousand contract actions in a typical year, with a collective value of approximately $950 million.

Food traders are switching from containers back to dry bulk vessels to transport refined sugar and rice, hoping to avoid shipping delays caused by container shortages and port congestion that the industry is calling "containergeddon", according to traders.Container-based transportation has been hit by sky-high costs and delays amid booming shipping demand, while container terminals at ports struggle to deal with the flow.Commodities such as refined sugar, coffee, rice, cotton…

The Belgium-based NHV group, which is specialized in B-to-B helicopter services and has a strong geographic presence in Europe and Western Africa, said that it has signed new contract with Ørsted to provide helicopter services in support of the Borssele 1+2 Offshore Wind farm.The oil and gas industry focused helicopter services provider said that the operations are expected to start in May 2020. Flights will depart from NHV’s base in Zeeland to the Borssele Wind Farm, located 23 kilometres from Westkapelle in front of the Dutch coast.NHV will support this project utilizing the H145 aircraft, the latest Airbus Helicopter 4-tonne-class twin-engine rotorcraft.

The CMA CGM Group announced it is reinforcing its service from Europe to West Africa through a new call at Kribi (Cameroon) and shortened transit times from North Europe on its EURAF 5 service. The new service started in January 2018. As a result, its EURAF 5 (Europe-West Africa) will benefit from a new port coverage on the following route:  Antwerp, Le Havre, Lisbon, Algeciras, Pointe Noire, Luanda, Kribi, Douala, Abidjan, Algeciras, Antwerp. Transit times will also be shortened up to 10 days from Northern Europe to Douala with a weekly direct service. Moreover, the ports of Lobito and Namibe in Angola will be served in relay via Pointe Noire. The service will benefit from a direct weekly call at Kribi.

Shipbuilder Damen said its latest transport of newbuild vessels has arrived in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The multiple vessel shipment carried on board the SAL Heavy Lift vessel MV Lone comprises various Damen Tugs and one Multi Cat that have been constructed at Damen’s yards in Vietnam. Consisting of two Stan Tugs 2608, three ASD Tugs 2411, four ASD Tugs 2810, two ASD Tugs 3212 and a Multi Cat 1908, the shipment is a strategic positioning of built-for-stock vessels in Europe, the shipbuilder said.

The CMA CGM Group is pleased to announce that on July 25, 2017, the official signing ceremony for the concession agreement of the new container terminal was held in Kribi, Cameroon, chaired by the Minister for Transport, Edgar Alain Mébé Ngo’o. Following an international call to tenders, the consortium of the French groups CMA CGM and Bolloré Transport & Logistics as well as the Chinese group CHEC, were granted the funding and the operation of the Kribi Container Terminal, which they will manage for 25 years under a Public-Private partnership with the State of Cameroon. Kribi Containers Terminal will be backed by a solid and complementary shareholder base: CMA CGM…

Oslo-listed oil services firm Subsea 7's Chief Financial Officer Ricardo Rosa told an energy conference in Oslo he sees gradual market recovery as oil prices stabilize, and the outlook for subsea project awards increasing within the next 12 months. "Previously all the discussions (with oil companies) were about cutting costs, now we are starting to talk about launching new projects... We have a measured optimism," Rosa said. Rosa said he sees activity is picking up in the Gulf of Mexico, but remains low in western Africa, and doesn't expect anything in Brazil in 2017.

CMA CGM upgrades its offer between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea with the new MARMARA EXPRESS line. "We are pleased to announce the new service offer MARMARA EXPRESS which directly links Turkey, Spain, France, Greece and Italy," says a company statement. This fast and reliable service will answer the recent growth of trade between Turkey and the Western Mediterranean countries. The ports of the Sea of Marmara, which are located in the North of Turkey between the Aegean and the Black Sea, are now directly connected to Italy, Spain and France with very competitive transit times: Valencia is reached in 5 days from Aliaga, 8 from Barcelona, and in 10 from Fos-sur-Mer.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting countries in western Africa to enhance their national search and rescue (SAR) services with a regional training course and meeting taking place in Lagos, Nigeria this week. The activities are assisting Member States under the “Nigeria SAR Region” (Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe) to develop their regional SAR Plan and to increase regional cooperation. The training course (21-23 November) covered the duties of search and rescue “On-Scene Coordinators”, which was followed by the third meeting of the regional SAR Coordinating Committee.

Strategically located Spain, linking countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas, along with a dynamic coast line dotted with number of highly proactive ports have bolstered its progress helping it to become a global leader in the ‘ship’ repairs and conversion. Spearheading the ship design and construction operations in Europe, the sector is witnessing an unusual boom with an annual volume of about €400 million. One can find 13 shipyards competing in this ship repair/conversion market. The smaller ones being able to repair vessels of up to 100 meters in length and the bigger ones – considered to be the biggest shipyards in Europe in terms of docking facilities – have dry docks that service vessels of up to 400 meters.

How did you find a career in the maritime industry? As a consequence of my father´s dedication to the industry, as founder of a shipping agency in the early eighties as well as partner in a large shipping company and shipyard´s ownership, I grew up in this atmosphere and orientated my academic training towards being able to continuing what he and his business partners created and developed. Although I did start my professional career dealing with other type of businesses within my family, the core root of our family wealth has always been in the maritime industry.

The Danish government on Thursday announced a new three-year strategy for combatting piracy and armed robbery at sea. The Danish Foreign Ministry said that that the nation will expand its scanning into the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Nigeria. It still sees a focus on piracy off Somalia but will also target areas off West Africa where Denmark is said to have maritime interests. “With this strategy, Denmark will continue to be at the forefront of international efforts to combat piracy. Our activities will continue to focus on the Horn of Africa but as something new we will also carry out a range of activities in the Gulf of Guinea in western Africa where piracy and armed robbery at sea are the source of growing international concern…

WatchStander LLC, a provider of antipiracy technology for the shipping industry, has tripled the effective operating range of its fully automated antipiracy system. The company upgraded its system to detect vessels and potential piracy threats from up to six nautical miles, tripling its previous capability. It has also enabled the technology to automatically respond with advanced, nonlethal countermeasures against inbound pirate boats as early as five nautical miles, significantly increasing the safety of the vessel and crew under attack.

As international cooperation brings increasing pressure on more the traditional pirate trade in east Africa, there is mounting evidence that Western Africa, from Guinea-Bissau south to the Congo has become a new hotspot for the pirate trade. While the movie “Captain Phillips”, a story about Somali pirates hijacking the Captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, played in theaters around the world, the International Chamber of Commerce, International Maritime Bureau, was quietly…

Provider of managed communication solutions for remote and harsh environments, Harris CapRock Communications has signed a multi-year contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd (DSME) to provide an integrated telecommunications solution supporting the Mafumeira Sul project off the coast of  Angola. Harris CapRock says it will provide equipment and design, integrate and test all telecommunication systems before deployment; install cable at multiple construction sites around the globe; and provide commissioning support off the coast of Angola.

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.

Drydocks World and Maritime World announced the launch of Dubai Maritime Green Initiative, a movement to encourage all-round environmental excellence in maritime and allied sectors including oil, gas and energy. The initiative was inaugurated in the presence of decision-makers from government and industry and was underlined by MoU for green technology transfer with leading classification society DNV and Rolls-Royce a renowned marine systems provider. The main aim of the Initiative is to encourage companies engaged in research and development on green design…

AECOM awarded US$15.6-million first year of renewable contract for Ghana’s Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project. The contract from the Ghana National Gas Company is renewable annually. The project primarily consists of a 27-mile shallow-water section of the offshore pipeline from Ghana’s Jubilee Field to Atuabo; a gas-processing plant at Atuabo; a 68-mile onshore pipeline from Atuabo to Aboadze; a 46-mile onshore lateral pipeline from Essiama to Prestea; a natural gas liquids export system in Domunli; and other infrastructure such as storage facilities and an office complex. AECOM will provide full program management services…

During their visit to the Senegalese capital, Mr Bin Sulayem and Mr Bin Thaniah also toured Terminal à Conteneur, West Africa’s largest and most modern container terminal, managed and operated by DP World Dakar. Four Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 10 Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTGs) were installed at the terminal recently, completing the upgrading work, which also included a new gate complex and new reefer storage facilities. The terminal was opened to business last November after DP World carried out new expansion work that more than doubled capacity to over 600,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) under a concession agreement signed in 2007.

BOURBON opens a new affiliate in Saint Petersburg, Bourbon Baltic, which will provide clients with first-class ship management resources. It complements BOURBON’s current operations in Sakhalin. Global leader in offshore oil and gas marine services, BOURBON opens Bourbon Baltic, an affiliate based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to optimize vessel crew recruitment and continue offering oil and gas clients around the world top quality ship management services for their offshore needs. BOURBON affiliates are strategically located around the world to work closely with local stakeholders and get access to highly skilled seafarers. North-western Russia with its center in St Petersburg has a long-standing tradition of maritime activity and was chosen by BOURBON for the Group’s Russian affiliate.