Africa News

World coal seaborne trade grew 3.7 percent last year helped by higher output in India, Indonesia and Russia, Germany's VDKI coal importers lobby said on Friday.Imports and exports rose to 1.202 billion tonnes from 1.159 billion tonnes in 2017, VDKI Managing Director Franz-Josef Wodopia said in an speech made available to Reuters.Of the total, trade in steam coal used in power stations rose by 3.6 percent to 920 million tonnes.Trade in coking coal used for steelmaking rose by 4.4 percent to 281 million tonnes…

TransNamib Holdings Ltd, and Botswana Railways (BR) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Gaborone, Botswana, which will culminate in the development and operation of a container terminal in Gobabis.The MoU, signed by TransNamib CEO, Johny Smith, and his Motswana counterpart, Leonard Musa Makwinja, signals the beginning of a fruitful and beneficial relationship to develop and enhance trade between the two countries. The MoU was .“The future of railways offers many opportunities”, said.

CMA CGM will retain the only Containerships brand for its intra-European operations, giving up MacAndrews, which had already erased OPDR."Containerships: from April 1st, 2019 a single brand resulting from the union of two experts of intra-European transport CMA CGM reinforces its strategy aimed at densifying its regional coverage to the benefit of its clients," said a press release from MacAndrews.According to the French container transportation and shipping company, by joining the forces of two recognized experts of intra-European multimodal transport…

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…

Israel’s largest cargo shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has opened its blockchain platform for electronic bills of lading (eB/Ls) to all clients in selected trades.Over the last year, following ZIM’s November 2017 announcement regarding the first-ever pilot of paperless Bills-of-Lading based on blockchain technology, ZIM and selected leading customers have been testing the new Platform as a solution for trade activities on multiple shipping lanes.Following the successful pilot, accomplished with the cooperation of Wave Ltd.

Three cargoes of U.S. crude are heading to China from the U.S. Gulf Coast, trade sources said on Monday, the first departures since late September and a 90-day pause in the two countries' trade war that began last month.The vessels left Galveston, Texas, last month and are scheduled to arrive at Chinese ports between late January and early March, according to shipbrokers and vessel tracking data. The shipments mark a change since Chinese buyers largely began avoiding U.S. oil during the trade dispute that flared last summer."It looks like China has resumed purchasing U.S.

An undersea cable and pipe-laying ship, the Vanuatu-flagged MV Star Centurion, capsized in the Indonesian waters of the Singapore Straits after a collision with a tanker on Sunday, with no fatalities, authorities said on Monday.The Singapore Straits are one of the world's busiest shipping zones with hundreds of container ships, oil and fuel tankers and dry bulk carriers daily traversing the waters that connect east Asia to Europe, India and Africa.The collision happened just north of Bintan…

Retired Vice Adm. Richard Hunt will assume the position of president of the Surface Navy Association (SNA) at the association’s annual symposium in January. Hunt succeeds retired Vice Adm. Barry McCullough, who has been president since 2013.Hunt is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was commissioned in February 1976 through the Officer Candidate School program in Newport, R.I. He attended Naval Post Graduate School, receiving a Master of Science in Telecommunications Systems Management in March 1988.He has served in USS Sampson (DDG 10), USS Underwood (FFG 36) and USS Roark (FF 1053), and has commanded USS Crommelin (FFG 37) and USS Philippine Sea (CG 58).

Saudi Arabian shipping company Bahri said that its CEO Abdullah Aldubaikhi has been appointed to the board of directors of ITOPF, the world’s largest ship owner organization providing objective advice on effective response to spills of oil, chemicals and other substances in the marine environment.With the organization’s Board including 23 CEOs of major global tanker owners and operators, ITOPF’s efforts are aimed at improving the preparedness and response to spills of cargo and/or fuel from ships around the world.Effective November 8…

The Swiss-based cruise company MSC Cruises  has waved ‘bon voyage’ to MSC Magnifica as the final guests embarked today in Barcelona for the Company’s first world cruise.For many, the idea of seeing the world is just a dream, but a world cruise is an easy way to make this dream a reality, and the only way to circumnavigate the globe without having to unpack a suitcase more than once! On this first world cruise, MSC Cruises guests will visit 49 different destinations, checking off 32 countries from their bucket lists.From the Mediterranean…

U.S. offshore vessel owner Seacor Marine  has acquired of three fast support vessels (FSVs) in exchange for the private placement of 603,872 shares of its common stock to domestic U.S. holders affiliated with the McCall family of Louisiana.The provider of global marine and support transportation services to offshore oil and natural gas and windfarm facilities worldwide has operated the acquired vessels for the past ten years under a revenue sharing pooling agreement along with four of its owned FSVs of similar specification.As part of the transaction, this pooling agreement was terminated.

The Surface Navy Association will hold its 31st National Symposium January 15-17, 2019 at the Crystal City Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Va.The symposium will feature senior Navy leaders delivering keynote remarks, focused on the theme of “Ready, Agile, Focused: Own the Fight!”Featured speakers include Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran; Commander, Naval Surface Forces/Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Vice Adm. Richard A. Brown, USN; Director, Surface Warfare (N96) Rear Adm. Ronald A. Boxall; and Director, Expeditionary Warfare (N95) Maj. Gen.

Despite notable breakthroughs in technology and an overdue increase in conversations regarding safety at sea, the very nature of the marine industry means that risk is inevitable.Piracy remains a prominent concern in certain regions, for example, around the Gulf of Aden. According to statistical data provided by ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) , 107 ships were hijacked or were subject to attempted attacks by pirates between January-June 2018. This figure has risen by 20 per cent in comparison to data collected in 2017 and only further highlights the need for adequate safety measures. Even if your organizations’ activities aren’t near to one of the affected regions…

UAE-based privately-owned port operator Gulftainer has appointed Fred Castonguay its new group chief operating officer to strengthen its growing ports and logistics portfolio globally.Castonguay previously served as the vice president of Operations at Ports America Group and as president and COO for Ports America Outer Harbour in Oakland, California.Peter Richards, Group Chief Executive Officer at Gulftainer, said: “We are pleased to welcome Fred Castonguay on board as Group Chief Operating Officer of Gulftainer.

Low prices, abundant supply and an aggressive shift towards cleaner gas for energy generation are creating strong demand for LNG, not just from large buyers, but also from small importers, said Drewry.In its market opinion report, Shefali Shokeen, Senior Research Analyst, Drewry Maritime Research said that small-scale LNG projects (production and regasification capacity of less than 500,000 tonnes per annum) have reduced capex and are suitable for countries with low LNG consumption.For example Gibraltar has set up a small LNG import terminal with a total storage capacity of 5…

CMA CGM announced the service improvement connecting Middle East to East Africa, in the effort to maintain a high service reliability and punctuality with our lead product NOURA service.Effective from M/V CMA CGM MANET voyage Jebel Ali  today (January 3), direct product with a comprehensive coverage of East Africa and Indian Ocean markets, Noura service will benefit of a 6th sister ship of 2,200 TEU to address the recurrent port congestion.Mombasa is added in the port coverage to permit significant service improvement for Asia cargo bound to Somalia and transiting via Kenya hub, said a press n

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrives in Aksaz, Turkey for a regular scheduled port visit on its sixth forward-deployed naval forces patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, Jan. 1, 2019.The ship's patrol is a demonstration of the U.S. Navy's continued commitment to strengthening strategic partnerships in the European and African region.While on patrol, Porter will conduct naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.U.S.

The classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), has made significant inroads into the Middle East market, following the announcement in October on its plans to further strengthen its footprint in the region.IRClass said in a press release that it has received authorisation as a Recognised Organisation (RO) from The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – opening doors of opportunities of shipping companies to the classification society.Further, IRClass has also received authorisation as RO from the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Port and Maritime Authority.

Britain is recalling two patrol boats from overseas deployments to help deal with an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the country from France, interior minister Sajid Javid said on Monday.Javid said there had been an increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel from France and last week he declared the situation a "major incident".On Monday, following a meeting of officials in London, he said two the additional ships would join three other vessels already working in the channel.He said 230 migrants had attempted to cross one of the world's busiest shipping lanes in December, although almost half were prevented from leaving France.The number is a tiny fraction of those regularly attempting to reach European Union territory by crossing the Mediterranean f

Political instability and low credit ratings in emerging economies are putting some shipowners off ordering new floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), as they shift focus to more mature gas markets.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand from emerging markets in Asia, Africa and South America was expected to be boosted by FSRU technologies that are less expensive and time-consuming than onshore import terminals.But a boom in speculative FSRU orders from shipowners led to an oversupply of units this year as import projects across the world were delayed or cancelled…

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…

Monjasa expects a 200,000mts volume increase from its new supply location Djibouti. The objective is to challenge status quo and provide a valid alternative to the traditional Suez and Jeddah bunker markets.Strategically located at the mouth of the Red Sea, Djibouti is fast developing into an attractive bunker destination on the busy Suez waterway. Improved maritime infrastructure and heavy investments in port developments are expected to further advance trade going in and out…

The British Columbia’s Port of Prince Rupert and DP World have marked a historic milestone as Fairview Container Terminal handled its millionth container (TEU) for the first time in a calendar year.The 40-foot TEU was loaded with dimensional lumber in Prince George before being shipped to Prince Rupert by train and loaded onto the COSCO Africa container ship to be sent to market.“DP World is proud to have achieved the million TEU milestone,” said Maksim Mihic, General Manager DP World (Canada) Inc.