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Guinea News

18 Mar 2024

IMO to Open Regional Office in Fiji

Source: IMO

The IMO will open its seventh Regional Presence Office (RPO), in Suva, Fiji, after IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, and Fiji Minister for Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 18.The Regional Presence Office will support the maritime needs and priorities of countries in the Pacific Islands region, aligning IMO actions with national and regional development policies, while providing advice on key maritime issues such as training, safety and security, legislation and marine environment.

29 Jan 2024

Danish Frigate Departs for the Red Sea

(Photo: Danish Defense)

Denmark on Monday sent a frigate to the Red Sea, where it will participate in a U.S.-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic against attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants.The Iran-aligned Houthi have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at commercial and navy vessels since Nov. 19, in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza.In response, shipping firms have since December diverted hundreds of vessels around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a journey that takes 10-14 days longer and is more costly than the passage via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.Denmark…

23 Jan 2024

AR Simulator Added to Pilot Training at Smartship Australia

Image courtesy FORCE Technology

Force Technology won a deal to deliver its SimFlex4 AR solution as part of an extensive upgrade for the Queensland-based maritime simulation and training facility, Smartship Australia, which focuses on professional pilotage training and development. Smartship's facility in Brisbane includes five marine simulators, including two full mission bridges, one Tug bridge, and two-part task simulators.FORCE Technology’s SimFlex simulator was originally selected when Smartship Australia was first established in 2011.

19 Jan 2024

'Seafarers Did Not Sign Up to Be Shot At'

© Igor Kardasov / Adobe Stock

In response to the escalating attacks on ships in the Red Sea, charity group Sailors' Society has initiated an urgent crisis appeal, shedding light on the severe human cost faced by seafarers caught in the conflict.Attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia on ships in the region since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe, leading to widely reported supply chain disruptions and financial implications of rerouting ships.Sailors' Society said its appeal aims to draws attention to the danger posed to sailors by explosive drones and missiles.

29 Dec 2023

Esgian: New Contracts, Drilling Activities and Rig Moves Across the World

Borgland Dolphin drilling rig (Credit: Dolphin Drilling)

Esgian's last roundup of the year for the Week 52 puts spotlight on new developments for Dolphin Drilling semisub, Seadrill drillships, as well as Shell’s plans for Australia and ONGC’s new tender for jackups in India.ContractsDolphin Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an undisclosed operator for the 1,500-ft semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin to undertake a 500-day drilling campaign in the UK. The drilling campaign is planned to begin directly after the firm part of the contract period with EnQuest, which was announced in late November 2023.

22 Nov 2023

Austal Delivers Samoa-bound Patrol Boat

Nafanua III is the 18th Guardian-class Patrol Boat to be delivered by Austal to the Australian Department of Defense under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project SEA3036-1. (Photo: Austal)

Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia division has delivered the 18th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, Nafanua III, was accepted by representatives from the Department of Defense and then gifted by the Australian Government, to the Samoa Police Service at a handover ceremony held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on Wednesday.Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said Nafanua III is the third Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivered by Austal in 2023…

06 Oct 2023

Austal Delivers Patrol Boat for Papua New Guinea

The ceremony was attended by Australia’s Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister for Veterans Affairs, The Hon. Matt Keogh MP, and Papua New Guinea Minister for Defence, The Hon. Win Bakri Daki MP. (Photo: Austal)

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 17th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, HMPNGS Gilbert Toropo, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force at a handover ceremony held at the HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat is the fourth of four vessels to be gifted to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project…

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…

25 Aug 2023

US Coast Guard Joins Papua New Guinea Maritime Security Operation

USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) hosts operational planning and subject matter exchange with partners in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Photo by Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has invited the USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) to join their lead in maritime operations to combat illegal fishing and safeguard maritime resources during August 2023.This marks the first time a joint patrol effort will be executed at sea since the signing and ratification of the recent bilateral defense agreement between PNG and the US, which allows the US to embark shipriders from PNG agencies aboard the ship to conduct at sea boardings on other vessels operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).The move emphasizes PNG’s commitment to maritime domain awareness…

18 Aug 2023

No Clear Winner in US, China Contest in the Pacific

© Oleksii / Adobe Stock

The United States opened international aid offices in the Pacific Islands this week, bolstering support for the strategic region and pitting it more forcefully against China, which has been providing infrastructure loans to the area for years.The vast ocean region, pivotal in World War Two, is in the spotlight again amid tensions over Taiwan. Taiwanese officials this week said China, which claims the island as its territory, could launch military drills soon to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year.On Wednesday…

13 Aug 2023

Svitzer Australia Appoints New Managing Director

Source: Svitzer Australia

Videlina Georgieva has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Svitzer Australia.She will help drive regional growth and progress Svitzer’s decarbonization agenda and replaces outgoing Nicolaj Noes who will be leaving Svitzer to take on a new opportunity.Georgieva brings a deep understanding of Svitzer’s business and operations, including within Australia, where she has been part of delivering significant commercial results throughout her 13 years with Svitzer, and most recently as the organization's Global Chief Commercial Officer.

02 Aug 2023

New Expedition Cruise Ship Delivered to Seabourn

Seabourn Pursuit (Photo: Seabourn)

Carnival's Seabourn brand has taken delivery of its second purpose-built, ultra-luxury expedition ship, Seabourn Pursuit, during an official handover ceremony at the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The "yacht like" small ship is designed and built for remote, diverse environments to PC6 Polar Class standards and includes modern hardware and technology that extend the ship's global deployment and capabilities and allows the line to offer a wide range of expedition activities led by an expert 24-person expedition team of scientists…

24 Jul 2023

US Commissions First Navy Warship in Foreign Port

The Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) arrives in Sydney, Australia July 18, 2023. The ship was commissioned July 22 in Sydney. (Photo: Julie Ann Ripley / U.S. Navy)

The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a U.S. Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China's expanding regional reach.The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS-30)—named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942—was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbour, officially joining the U.S.

12 Jul 2023

Piracy Is Heating Up In Key Hotspots

© mrnai / Adobe Stock

Reported incidents of piracy and attacks on vessels are on the rise in key hotspot areas such as the Gulf of Guinea and Singapore Straits.Sixty-five incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were recorded globally in the first half of 2023, an increase from 58 incidents for the same period in 2022, according to a mid-year report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Of the 65 incidents reported, 57 vessels were boarded, four had attempted attacks, two were hijacked and two were fired upon. Perpetrators successfully boarded 90% of targeted vessels.

29 Jun 2023

EPA Settles Ballast Water Violation Claims

© kulkann / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with two shipping companies over claims of violations of EPA’s Vessel General Permit issued under the Clean Water Act.Under the terms of the settlements, Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd. will pay $137,000 in penalties and MMS Co. Ltd. will pay $200,000 in penalties for claims of ballast water discharge, inspection, monitoring, and reporting violations.The violations relate to Singapore-based Swire Shipping’s vessels, the Papuan Chief and the New Guinea Chief…

28 Jun 2023

Concerns Over Anti-Piracy Efforts Raised at UN Security Council

Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs - Department of Peace Operations, while speaking to the United Nations Security Council meeting on June 22.

While piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has been declining since 2021, concerns have been raised about staffing, equipment and finance needed to continue anti-piracy efforts in the region.There are several challenges holding back the full operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture, said Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs - Department of Peace Operations at the United Nations, while speaking to the United Nations Security Council meeting on June 22.

08 Jun 2023

Capesize Spot Rates Hesitant Despite 5% Rise in Demand -BIMCO

© cloudvisual / Adobe Stock

“During the first five months of 2023, demand for Capesize ships increased 5% y/y while supply increased 3% y/y. Nonetheless, spot rate increases remain hesitant, largely due to concerns over China’s fragile economic recovery,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Demand growth was supported by a 4% increase in average haul while cargo volumes increased only marginally. Average haul increased due to higher exports from Brazil and Guinea and higher volumes of long-haul Russian coal.Supply rose due to a 2% y/y increase in the Capesize fleet and a 1% increase in fleet productivity.

30 May 2023

Heroic Idun Released from Nigeria

Source: Nigerian Navy

The Nigerian Navy announced the release of the VLCC Heroic Idun on Saturday, and the crew and vessel are now reportedly sailing for South Africa.The navy said the “grave infractions” of the vessel were prosecuted by the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on January,10 2023. The 26 foreign crew pleaded guilty and elected voluntarily to enter into a plea bargain that involved paying fines and making an apology to the Federal Republic of Nigeria…

08 May 2023

Tanker Crew Members Rescued More Than Five weeks After Gulf of Guinea Pirate Attack

Six crew members who were kidnapped by pirates from a Danish-owned ship in the Gulf of Guinea in late March have been rescued from an undisclosed location in Nigeria, the vessel's owner said on Monday.The Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker Monjasa Reformer with 16 crew members was hijacked on March 25 by five armed assailants some 140 miles west of the Republic of Congo's Port Pointe-Noire."All recovered crew members are in a relatively good health condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last more than five weeks," Monjasa CEO Anders Ostergaard said in a statement.The crew members have all received medical checks and are now being repatriated to their home countries and families, he added.

23 Apr 2023

WW2 Shipwreck Found 81 Years After Tragic Sinking

The SS Montevideo Maru, an unmarked prisoner of war transport vessel missing since being sunk off the Philippines' coast in July 1942, was discovered northwest of Luzon island. (Image courtesy of Silentworld Foundation)

Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the wreck of a Japanese merchant ship, sunk in World War Two with 864 Australian soldiers on board, had been found in the South China Sea, ending a tragic chapter of the country's history.Marles said the SS Montevideo Maru, an unmarked prisoner of war transport vessel missing since being sunk off the Philippines' coast in July 1942, had been discovered northwest of Luzon island.The ship was torpedoed en route from what is now Papua New Guinea to China's Hainan by a U.S. submarine, unaware of the POWs onboard.

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.

05 Apr 2023

Ukraine-bound Commercial Ship Sinks off Turkey

©Turkish Coast Guard

Turkish coast guards were searching for nine missing crew members of a Ukraine-bound commercial ship that sank close to Turkey's southern province of Antalya. The Guinea Bissau-flagged ship had sailed from Turkey's Iskenderun port for Ukraine's Izmail port, the coast guard said. Five crew members were rescued by helicopters and other ships passing by the area, it said in a statement. The ship had in total 14 crew members of Syrian origin and sunk some 37 km off the coast of Antalya province. The coast guard did not say what caused it to go down.