Africa News

U.S. sanctions imposed last month on subsidiaries of vast Chinese shipping fleet Cosco have given an unexpected boost to European refiners as less crude oil from the North Sea and West Africa heads east, traders and analysts said.Freight rates have soared as oil producers scramble for non-blacklisted vessels, discouraging longer-distance voyages.Complex refining margins for advanced facilities capable of extracting even more valuable products like diesel and gasoline, have been especially strong in Europe, industry sources said.The U.S.

Jan De Nul group of the beginning of work on dredging and expansion on an internal ship canal and a turning circle in port of Nouadhibou (Mauritania), one of the largest centers through which iron ore from the country is exported, is told in the group message.With the deepening and widening of the 25-km long entrance channel to the mineral terminal of Port of Nouadhibou, the National Industrial and Mineral Authority of Mauritania (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière or SNIM) opens the port for vessels with a capacity of up to 250…

With a second Final Investment Decision (FID) in just 2 years, Mozambique has officially positioned itself as a key player in the global gas and LNG market for years to come.The latest FID on the US$20 billion Mozambique LNG project, makes it the largest sanction ever in sub-Saharan Africa oil and gas.Described by His Excellency President Nyusi as “one of the most important and transformational projects in the country’s history”, Mozambique LNG is set to be a game-changer for this East African nation of 31 million people.According to Wood Mac…

The global search for lower carbon forms of energy and demand for cost-effective ways to serve power demand in emerging markets and remote locations is driving interest in floating storage and regasification units (FSRU).FSRUs are a faster and more flexible way to import natural gas to power-constrained places, so demand for the units is increasing and the business case for owning them is growing stronger.Their model for supplying energy and transport fuel is historically well proven: they offer faster development timelines and lower initial capital costs compared to onshore regasification…

Siemens Gamesa has pledged its further commitment to the growth of clean energy in Egypt through the construction of the 250 MW West Bakr Wind project which is owned by the renewable power generation company Lekela.Siemens Gamesa will install 96 SG 2.6-114 turbines through a turnkey EPC contract and will provide long term maintenance through a 15-year service agreement.Alfonso Faubel, SGRE Onshore CEO, said: “We are proud to have been selected to contribute to the ambitious goals in renewable energy the Government has set for the coming years.

Incat Crowther has announced the launch of Kilimanjaro VII, a 45m catamaran passenger ferry for AzamMarine of Tanzania, Africa. This vessel is the tenth vessel designed by Incat Crowther for the operator, and theseventh vessel built for the operator by Richardson Devine Marine.The 500-passenger, 35 knot vessel features the operator’s trademark parallel boarding system, whereby fiveramps per side load passenger and cargo in segregated flows. VIP and Royal Class passengers board into adiscreet stair tower directly to the upper deck cabin…

Ensuring that trade and travel by sea are as secure as possible is a key element of IMO's work and mandate.International Maritime Organization (IMO) took part in the Global Maritime Security Conference held in Nigeria (7-9 October) to look at maritime security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea as well as potential solutions to address maritime threats in the region.IMO's Assistant Secretary-General Lawrence Barchue, speaking on behalf of IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim, highlighted…

Highly sought after types of oil best suited to making cleaner shipping fuel are suddenly finding they are a tougher sell for thirsty East Asian markets, traders say, in an unintended consequence of U.S. sanctions on a Chinese shipping fleet.With just over two months until environmental rules are set to mandate the biggest changes to ship power in over a century, certain rare types of West African oil have soared in value but have had to be marked down due to the higher costs of transport.The United States imposed sanctions on units of China's COSCO on Sept.

Nduna Maritime, a subsidiary of the Mnambithi Group, and the integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol have invested in South Africa's first locally-owned chemical tanker with a funding agreement made through the Sasol Siyakha Trust.The Bow Cecil is claimed to be the first South Africa flagged vessel to transport chemicals to international markets. "We are particularly proud of this landmark agreement, as it is a significant investment into localizing and diversifying our supply chain.

Dutch multinational geo-data specialist Fugro has appointed Erik-Jan Bijvank as Group Director for Europe and Africa.With this latest appointment, Fugro said it completes its new executive leadership team, which was established as of 1 May, consisting of the Board of Management, four regional Group Directors and several functional Group Directors.Erik-Jan Bijvank worked at Stork, a Fluor company, for over 20 years, where he fulfilled several senior management roles both in the Netherlands and the UK.

French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM plans to introduce its new product GUINEA GULF EXPRESS (GGX) service in complement of the current 6 weekly services as part of improving its  offer on the trade Europe and Mediterranean to West Africa strategic markets.The new Guinea Gulf Express is the second service from Gibraltar hubs linking European, Med and North America to Tema, Ghana, Nigeria Lagos port and Conakry, Guinea.It will provide perfect answers to Customers’ needs with transit times amongst the best on the market…

Sellers returned to the window on Monday to entice buyers spooked by high freight rates due to Washington's sanctions on subsidiaries of a major Chinese shipping firm at the end of September.Long-haul rates to Asia have risen sharply prompting refiners to shed some cargoes.China's Unipec offered four cargoes in the window for a third session all November loading on a fob basis. These were Angolan Saturno at dated Brent plus 35 cents, Dalia at dated Brent plus $1.90, Mostarda at…

German-based cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG expects Indian container market to grow further and it launches two new services."In response to growing demand, Hapag-Lloyd will offer more services from and to India. Two new services, the South East India - Europe Express (IEX) and the Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX), will enter into operation in October," the shipper said.Both the IEX and the MIAX will further strengthen and optimize Hapag-Lloyd’s market-leading…

French oil giant Total has awarded contracts to Norwegian shipping company Solstad Farstad for two large anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels.The offshore service and supply ship shipping company announced that the contracts were awarded by Total’s South African entity for the provision of the Normand Drott and Normand Prosper large AHTS vessels.The contracts are to support Total E&P South Africa's operations in Block 11B/12B and the drilling programme is expected to take up to 280 days…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working with southern and eastern African countries to help implement marine environment protection measures contained in one of the organization’s flagship treaties – MARPOL.A workshop held in Mombasa, Kenya (17-19) gathered participants from 12 countries to focus on MARPOL Annexes I to V, and in particular the regulations covering garbage discharge from ships and adequacy of port reception facilities. The participating countries were - Angola…

A disruption in global oil flows following attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities has left U.S. crude exporters without enough tankers to cover rising demand for cargoes, traders and shipping sources said.Missile attacks last Saturday temporarily cut Saudi oil production by more than 5 million barrels per day, or about half the country's output.That set off a scramble for alternative cargoes of crude, particularly in the United States, which lined up available tankers sailing from the Mediterranean, West Africa and continental Europe to pick up cargoes.

Incat Crowther has announced the launch and delivery of Krotoa, the first Flex Ferry developed in conjunction with Penguin Shipyard. The Incat Crowther designed vessel has been delivered to South Africa’s Robben Island Museum and takes its name from the famous prison’s first female political prisoner. It is the first of Penguin Shipyard’s passenger ferry stock build program. The second vessel will be completed in the coming weeks.Carrying 285 passengers, the Flex Ferry sets a new benchmark, offering efficiency and seakeeping beyond its competitors.

Tugs from Boluda Towage Spain, the towing division of Boluda Corporación Marítima, have recently towed the largest container ship in the world in and out of the port of Algeciras.Built this year, the MSC MINA a has 23,756 TEU capacity and is powered by 228,741 GT. The ship called at the port of Cadiz during its maiden voyage from the Chinese port of Xingang to northern Europe, a service operated jointly with Maersk.The containership with the greatest container-holding capacity in the world was towed upon arrival at the Bay of Algeciras on 4 September by the tugboats VB JUANGONZALEZ…

ION Geophysical Corporation, a technology focused company that provides geophysical technology, services and solutions to the global oil and gas industry, announced a new 2D multi-client program offshore West Africa.The industry-supported NamibeSPAN program covers the under-explored Namibe basin offshore southern Angola. The dataset integrates ION BasinSPAN programs in the area, forming a contiguous regional exploration framework in excess of 65,000 km along the West African coast. The program is the conjugate tie with offshore Brazil.

The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier containment market was USD 11.21 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach around USD15.56 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 4.9% between 2019 and 2025.The LNG carrier containment market is majorly driven by the rising demand for natural gas from various industries and LNG’s growing number of residential and commercial applications, said a report by Zion Market Research.Furthermore, LNG has witnessed an exponential increase in its demand as an automobile fuel in recent past…

The global oil demand will peak in the mid-2020s and gas demand will keep rising to 2033, says DNV GL.Gas demand will then plateau, and the fuel will remain dominant until the end of the forecast period in 2050, when it will account for over 29% of the world’s energy supply, it said.Significant investment will be required to ensure production meets demand, including realising the potential from stranded gas reserves and for reserve replacement. DNV GL forecasts global upstream gas capital expenditure to reach USD 737 billion (bn) in 2025…

Singapore-based gas carrier owner and operator Epic Gas has completed the refinancing of two 2010-built liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers.The  two ships – the Epic Bali and Epic Borneo (each 2010 built, 7200 cbm) - were both in a finance lease structure and Epic Gas exercised a purchase option to refinance the vessels through a sale and lease back transaction with a Japanese ship owner, a press release from the fully pressurized gas carriers providing seaborne services for the transportation of LPG and petrochemicals.The bareboat charter back term is 10 years…

The the main trade seaport of France, the Port of Marseille Fos has unveiled a new eco-friendly initiative that supports the port's goal of becoming the Mediterranean's first fully electric port by 2025.Marseille Fos CEO Hervé Martel said: “We are convinced that ecological transition is the springboard to economic growth. That’s why we are investing heavily to become the Mediterranean’s first 100% electric port by 2025."Among a string of new eco-friendly initiatives, the Marseille…