Madagascar News

U.S. federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel B. Maffei announced Phillip C. “Chris” Hughey has been hired as the General Counsel of the Federal Maritime Commission and appointed to be a member of the Senior Executive Service.In his capacity as General Counsel to the Commission, Hughey will provide legal advice and recommendations to the Chairman and Commissioners on regulatory and policy matters. He will serve as a member of the agency’s senior management team and will also…

EUNAVFOR Atalanta and both the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center (RMIFC/Madagascar) and the Regional Coordination Operations Center (RCOC/Seychelles) conducted their first joint operation from September 21 to 24. This first Operation, named MARLIN, was aimed at strengthening maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean through sustainable collaboration between the States of the region and international partners. It contributed to the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA and the two regional centers in December 2021…

At least 64 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar and searches were underway for 24 missing passengers, the maritime agency said on Wednesday.Fifty survivors were found, the Maritime and River Port Agency said.The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony, director of operations at sea at the Maritime and River Port Agency (APMF).It sank late on Monday night with 138 people onboard, APMF said.

A vessel accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar killed at least 19 people, and searches were under way to locate 66 passengers who remained unaccounted for, the country's maritime agency said on Tuesday.The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony, director of operations at sea at the Maritime and River Port Agency (APMF).There were 130 passengers on the ship, travelling from Antanambe to Soanierana Ivongo, and 45 were found alive."Searches are under way to locate the other passengers.

Satcom Global announces VSAT coverage upgrade benefitting customers operating in European and Indian Ocean waters.Satcom Global announced another extension to its Aura VSAT maritime communications network, with the addition of two new satellite beams; Astra 4a Nordic and SES-12 IOR.The Astra 4a Nordic Ku-band beam was introduced to the Satcom Global Aura network in December 2020 to support customers operating in European waters. With carriers optimized for the performance of smaller Ku-band terminals…

Construction of what has been described as the world's largest civilian/NGO hospital ship - the Global Mercy - is making progress and is nearing completion in China.Mercy Ships, an NGO which ordered the ship to deliver free healthcare services to those with little access in the developing world, and Stena RoRo, which leads the construction of the Global Mercy, on Tuesday shared a timelapse video of the construction along with the photos of the vessel in the shipyard in China."The Global Mercy will be a true modern marvel—a fully custom-built hospital ship with customized instruments…

To encourage More women are joining the maritime ranks in a variety of professions within the industry and with a view to continuing the momentum to empower women in the maritime community, International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting a training course aimed at female officials from maritime and port authorities.Twenty-two women from 10 francophone countries in Africa - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,  Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar, Senegal, Seychelles and Togo -, took part in the two-week "Women in Port Management" course, hosted in Le Havre, France (27 January - 7 February).The course covered lectures on port management, port security, marine environment, facilitation of maritime traffic, marketing, port logistics and other topics.

Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) will more than double the capacity of its container terminal in Congo as part of a $100 million expansion, the company said on Thursday.Located on the Congo River, the port city of Matadi, where ICTSI operates the Matadi Gateway Terminal (MGT) under a joint venture with Congolese property management company SIMOBILE, is the Democratic Republic of Congo's primary shipping hub.The planned expansion will bring MGT's throughput capacity up to 400…

Madagascar is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s work promoting good maritime governance to support sustainable development.A workshop started the process to develop a National Maritime Transport Policy (NMTP) for the country took place in the capital, Antananarivo (13-15 November).Forty participants from across government departments took part and decided to complete a draft policy in early 2020.All relevant government entities and stakeholders would be involved in the process, with the goal being to contribute to the country’s sustainable socio-economic development and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.Maritime transport is essential for sustainable trade and development.

Designating an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is a recognition that the identified area may be vulnerable to potential impacts of international shipping.In a PSSA, associated protective measures can be proposed and adopted, such as ship routeing systems, for example, areas to be avoided by ships or no-anchoring areas. But first, the area needs to be identified.A sub-regional workshop in Nosy-Be, Madagascar (5 -7 November) is helping participants from Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania, to identify potential marine areas that could be designated as PSSAs.Marine areas may be designated a PSSA if they fulfil a number of criteria…

The GloFouling Partnerships project, is a joint initiative between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) ,  has 12 Lead Partnering Countries.Indonesia and Mexico have recently joined Fiji, Tonga, Brazil, Madagascar, Mauritius and Philippines as those which have already established their national task forces. Jordan, Sri Lanka, Peru and Ecuador will join in the coming months.The project will help developing countries to tackle invasive aquatic species transferred through so-called biofouling – on ships’ hulls and on other marine structures.Marine biodiversity is under threat from invasive aquatic species…

Marine biodiversity is under threat from invasive aquatic species, but International Maritime Organization (IMO) is leading a major global project to combat that threat and find solutions to this major problem.And that project has just passed two major milestones as two more countries, Indonesia and Mexico, have formed their national task force to take part in the initiative, said a press note from the UN body.The project, GloFouling Partnerships, is a joint initiative between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and IMO. It will help developing countries to tackle invasive aquatic species…

An intensive training on port management and operational efficiency was delivered to high-level officials and decision-makers from maritime and port authorities around the world.The annual five-week course, delivered by the Institut Portuaire d’Enseignement et de Recherche (IPER), concluded on 11 October in le Havre, France.The 33rd Advanced Course on Port Operations and Management welcomed 19 participants from 19 countries. Seven of these participants were women. The participating countries were Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Philippines, Senegal, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania and Togo.The course includes class-based training and site visits.

"The introduction of invasive aquatic organisms into new marine environments not only affects biodiversity and ecosystem health, but also has measurable impacts on a number of economic sectors" said Lilia Khodjet El Khil, head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-led GloFouling Partnerships project.The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project has concluded two workshops, one in Madagascar and one in Mauritius (19-21 August), two of 12 lead partnering countries whose aim is to protect marine biodiversity by addressing biofouling.During the first workshop, held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Captain Jean Edmond Randrianantenaina, added that "these invasive species can also pose a threat to public health through consumption of fish products".

Biodiversity can be threatened by organisms which can build up on ships' hulls and other marine structures, a process known as biofouling.A press note from International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that during a workshop in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil (5 August), experts on biofouling and invasive species and others took the first steps towards setting up a national task force to tackle the issue.According to the UN body, Brazil is one of 12 lead partnering countries in the GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project, which aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing biofouling.Each lead partnering country's national task force…

How do you deal with maritime crimes at sea - and how do you train others to do so? These are the skills being taught on the latest in a series of regional training of trainers courses on combating insecurity in the maritime domain.Participants from 18 countries have attended the course, at the Mohammed Bin Naif Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (30 June - 11 July).Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen were the participants.Participants learned teaching skills.

The initial phase of the Glofouling Partnerships project is now well and truly underway with a series of technical workshops in the Pacific, stated  International Maritime Organization (IMO).The UN body said that the key message delivered to participants was that once introduced, marine invasive species can be hard to eradicate - and invasive species represent a potential major threat to the Pacific Ocean's biodiversity and the ecological integrity of Small Island Developing States.The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing bio-invasions by organisms which can build up on ship's hulls and other marine structures.Meanwhile…

Senior officials from the newly established Kenya Coast Guard Services are undergoing training on coast guard functions at a national workshop in Mombasa, Kenya (24-28 June), said a press note from International Maritime Organization(IMO).The UN body said that fifteen participants are taking part in the training, which is using scenario development methodology and plenary discussions to highlight issues, identify insights and develop deeper understanding of effective ways to meet coastguard functions – with a view to enhancing maritime security in Kenya.The training is organized by the United Kingdom and IMO, under the auspices of the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct.It is supported by a joint team from the UK Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA)…

International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, announced that a major five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity has been kick-started at a global workshop at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (18-20 March).The IMO-executed GloFouling Partnerships project will address bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships’ hulls and other marine structures. The project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO.Representatives from 12 lead partnering countries, four regional organizations, IOC-UNESCO, the World Ocean Council and…

A training tackling maritime crime is undergoing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (10 - 28 March 2019), informed the International Maritime Organization (IMO).Members of three key regional maritime security agreements -The Djibouti Code of Conduct; the West and Central Africa Code of conduct; and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)-, which IMO has helped to establish, are participating in the program.Thirty participants from 24 countries are learning theoretical and practical skills to deal with piracy/robbery against ships, drug trafficking, marine terrorism, weapons smuggling…

Sharing information among the various different agencies involved is vital for maintaining maritime security, especially where there is a strong multi-national element.That’s why International Maritime Organization (IMO)  is running a workshop in Djibouti on maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area.The participants (from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, United Arab Emirates and Yemen)  are developing best practices to help develop common templates and standard operating procedures for sharing security-related information including on maritime crimes…

Madagascar on Wednesday said it had seized a Panamanian-flagged ship with Chinese crew in its waters and said the vessel, that authorities had tracked for some time, was being used to plunder its resources.Prime minister Christian Ntsay told a press conference in the capital Antananarivo the ship had "crisscrossed the territorial seas of Madagascar" for two to four months before it was seized overnight.He said some steps were taken to stop it from illegally accessing the Indian Ocean Island nation's waters but that those efforts were fruitless.The ship, he said, had previously "participated in the trafficking of our natural resources, including rosewood.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)  is providing training to countries in the west Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden on managing insecurity in the maritime domain in a regional workshop at the Djibouti Regional Training Centre (9-13 December).The countries are Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, the Sudan and Yemen.It’s the latest in an ongoing series of capacity-building initiatives in the region, targeted at national focal points and key personnel in maritime security.Participants include officers from coast guards, marine police, navy and maritime administrations…