West Africa News

Global Crude Market Finds Support From China Demand

China, the global oil market's lifeline this year, has stepped up purchases from exporters like Russia, the United States and Angola in recent weeks, while buyers elsewhere pare orders as coronavirus infections surge and fresh lockdowns are put in place.China, the world's largest importer of crude, is the only major buyer expected to see increased oil demand this year as the pandemic destroyed consumption globally.With China's imports expected to reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) next year…

ONE to Launch New Europe-West Africa Service

Singapore-based container line Ocean Network Express (ONE) is to launch a new weekly Europe - West Africa Service (EWX) commencing in February 2021.ONE said the port rotation is subject to change, but is currently planned as follows: Hamburg – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Le Havre – Algeciras – Tangier – Dakar – Tema – Abidjan – Hamburg.By calling at Algeciras and Tangier ports, ONE will provide transhipment connections linking West Africa from areas such as the Mediterranean, North America and Asia.

Traders Scout for Tankers to Store Diesel as Virus Spreads

Oil traders are scouting for newly built supertankers to store diesel for the next few months as they brace for lower demand in Europe amid renewed restrictions aimed at battling the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping and trade sources said.Trading companies, including oil majors, are making enquiries to charter very large crude carriers (VLCC) to carry diesel with 10 parts-per-million (ppm) sulphur for up to six months, they said, indicating that diesel floating storage could rise again.Several such supertankers…

Bandwidth Efficiency will Drive Maritime Digitalization

Gregory Darling and Applied Satellite Technology (AST) works with shipowners to help them use their bandwidth more efficiently for ship business and crew needs.When Gregory Darling, Group MD, AST, worked in the marine industry in the 1980s with a marine survey company, he needed to get word to one of his ships off of West Africa to recalibrate its course and head off to a new job. But the ship had left port, and radio calls to the ship went unanswered, resulting in two days of lost time and revenue.“That was frustrating and costly…

Hilburn Rejoins Crowley Solutions as VP, Business Development

Logistics executive Bleu Hilburn is returning to Crowley Solutions as vice president of business development for all government services. In this role, Hilburn will develop strategies to build a customer pipeline, qualify opportunities and manage all aspects of marketing, bid and capture management to drive growth and build deep relationships with government customers for Solutions.Hilburn, a 2015 Thomas Crowley Award winner, the company’s highest honor for employees, will start Aug.

New Mammoet Crane in Operation in Lagos Deep Offshore Logistic Base

Nigeria's Lagos Deep Offshore Logistic Base, LADOL, serving the country's offshore oil and gas industry, now has a new crane in operation - Mammoet Terminal Crane (MTC 15).LADOL and Mammoet had in January signed a partnership agreement aimed at growing LADOL’s capacity for project cargo handling and logistics for industrial sectors in West Africa. Mammoet then supplied LADOL with its heavy-lift terminal crane - MTC 15 - which has transformed LADOL’s quayside into a heavy lift terminal.

Shipowners Struggle to Bring Home Crews Amid Coronavirus Chaos

Shipping companies are still struggling to get hundreds of thousands of crew members back home after many months at sea despite pledges by countries to ease transit restrictions for seafarers, industry officials say.Countries including the UK, the United States, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines pledged this month to boost efforts to help seafarers, many of whom have been on ships longer than the 11-month limit laid out in a maritime labor convention.Other countries…

CMA CGM Halts Timber Exports from Gambia Over Rosewood Risk

Shipping group CMA CGM said on Wednesday it was suspending timber exports from Gambia due to suspected trafficking of rosewood in the West African country.Demand for furniture in China has led to widespread felling of rosewood in West Africa in recent years, despite the variety being protected under the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)."Following several suspicions that undeclared rosewood may have been part of cargo shipments from Gambia, the group has decided to halt its timber exports from the country until further notic

COVID-19: CMA CGM Launches the Business Continuity Pack

As the COVID-19 pandemic affects all sectors of the world economy, the CMA CGM Group is taking action by launching the Business Continuity Pack, a range of solutions to adapt and protect the supply chains of its customers.Business Continuity Pack: a new global range of adapted solutions during the COVID-19 pandemicWith the Business Continuity Pack, the CMA CGM Group provides comprehensive and customized solutions to:Adjust the pace of shipments by prioritizing the fast transportation of urgent shipments…

24/7 Voyage Security Risk Assessment … at the click of a mouse

Risk Intelligence provides security data, information, analysis and assessment to enable safe navigation in areas of risk in an increasingly uncertain worldSince its founding in 2001, Denmark-headquartered security information specialist Risk Intelligence has developed a fully integrated risk assessment and planning tool that provides valid, actionable intelligence to any fleet, on land, in port or at sea, 24/7/365. The company has three information and intelligence products that together assess security risks at sea…

Cargo Ship Captain and Crew Found Guilty in Cocaine Bust

The Russian captain and crew of a cargo ship captured last year in Cape Verde with the biggest cocaine haul ever seized in the country were found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to jail on Friday.The 9.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized in February 2019 after the ship, which was traveling to Morocco from South America, docked at the port of Praia for legal reasons following the death of a crew member.An Atlantic archipelago of 500,000 people off Africa’s west coast, Cape…

Nigeria Orders 20 RTG Cranes

Finnish manufacturer Konecranes said it has won an order for 20 rubber tired gantry (RTG) cranes from APMT’s West Africa Container Terminal in East Nigeria. The order was booked in two parts, the first in December 2019 and the second in January 2020. Delivery is scheduled to take place from the fourth quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2021.APMT’s West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) is located in Onne Port, part of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone in Nigeria. It was one of the first container terminals to be built in Nigeria under public/private ownership.

WACT to commence Phase 2 Upgrade

The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) is quickly earning a reputation as the gateway to Eastern Nigeria and a strong alternative to ports in Lagos.Investment in the Phase 2 upgrade, due to commence within the next 18 months, will help meet volumes, which have grown consistently over the past three years.“The Phase 2 upgrade includes the acquisition of three additional Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHCs) bringing the total in operation to five; 20 Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTGs)…

Whitworth Joins Maritime IoT Firm Pentonet

Experienced satellite communications executive will help shipowners apply open standards and cloud connectivity for better visibility of operational dataMaritime IoT start-up Pentonet has appointed Trevor Whitworth as Commercial Director, tasked with expanding the company’s presence globally.The shipping industry is adopting Internet of Things (IoT) technologies at an increasingly fast pace, enabling remote monitoring of systems and machinery. The potential benefits range from increased asset utilization…

Risk Management with a Mouse Click

Risk Intelligence provides security data, information, analysis and assessment to enable safe navigation in areas of risk in an increasingly uncertain world.Since its founding in 2001, Denmark-headquartered security information specialist Risk Intelligence has developed a fully integrated risk assessment and planning tool that provides valid, actionable intelligence to any fleet, on land, in port or at sea, 24/7/365. The company has three information and intelligence products that together assess security risks at sea…

UHL Takes-over Nine F900 Vessels

The German shipping company United Heavy Lift (UHL)  Hamburg has taken over a modern Heavy Lift fleet of nine eco-friendly F900 newbuildings.The vessels each have a cargo capacity of 14,100 dead-weight tonnes and are capable of lifting loads of up to 900 tonnes. Being built in 2018 and 2019, most of the nine vessels have only just hit the water. They are sailing under the Portuguese flag.“Our mission is to expand our company’s position as front-runners for an eco-friendly Heavy Lift shipping industry. The fleet of nine newbuilding F900 vessels is a perfect match for our sustainability policy.

Pirates Release Kidnapped Tanker Crew off Togo

Pirates have released three crew taken hostage from a Greek oil tanker off the coast of the West African country of Togo in November, the vessel's manager said on Friday.A fourth hostage, a Filipino, died from illness during captivity, European Products Carriers Ltd added.It did not give details of the release.The tanker, Elka Aristotle, was attacked on Nov. 4 about 18 km (11 miles) from the port of Lome.

Monjasa Expands to Angola

Danish bunker company Monjasa announced the opening of its first office in Luanda, Angola, to support the West Africa oil and shipping activities.Monjasa started supplying bunkers across West Africa in 2009 and since then, it has delivered a total of 10.6 million tonnes of fuel products across the region from the Gulf of Guinea to Namibia."Monjasa is currently enabling the IMO 2020 transition by making new low-sulfur marine fuel available across the region. Today, Monjasa is the leading supplier in West Africa measured on volume and a fleet of 10 tankers deployed in the region…

Pirates Kidnap Four from Greek Tanker

Pirates attacked a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Togo in the early hours of Monday and fled after taking four crew members as hostages, the West African nation's navy said, two days after a similar attack in the waters of neighbouring Benin.Of the missing crew members, two are Filipinos, one is Greek and one is Georgian, the navy said in a statement. One security guard was also shot and wounded in the attack, it said."Monday, 4th of November 2019, around 0300, the tanker boat Elka Aristotle was attacked around 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the port of Lome by armed individuals…

Pirates Kidnap Crew of MV Bonita

Pirates have kidnapped nine crew members from a Norwegian shipping vessel named the MV Bonita off the coast of Benin in West Africa.MV Bonita was anchored and awaiting berth at the Cotonou port to discharge a shipment of gypsum when the pirates boarded, the shipping firm  J.J. Ugland said in a statement Sunday.The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said that it is in close contact with Ugland Shipping with a common and clear goal to bring the 9 sailors back to safety. The vessel and remaining crew are safely anchored in Cotonou and investigations are carried out.

West Africa Crude-Freight Rates Ease

Freight rates to Europe and Asia have continued to ease, albeit at a less rapid rate than during the middle of the month, boosting price offerings for West African grades, traders said on Monday. Rates for VLCCs from Nigeria's Bonny Light terminal to Singapore settled at $3.25 a barrel on Friday from highs just below $10 two weeks earlier, according to Refinitiv data, while for Rotterdam they eased to $2.72 from a high above $5.Rates for key Angolan grade Girassol aboard a VLCC bound for China plunged to $3.84 a barrel from highs of $11.39.

ITF Expands into Asia Pacific

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has established its latest Contacts Network, covering Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Thailand.ITF has seen a significant increase in seafarers requesting assistance from countries without an inspector or contact, in recent years.Attempting to resolve these requests is often challenging due to several factors, including the local political context and the effectiveness…

Product Tanker Freight Rates Rebounds

Product tanker freight rates softened in the third quarter of 2019 but rebounded strongly at the start of the fourth quarter following an increase in crude tanker rates that began after the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and accelerated dramatically to multi-year high levels at the end of September when the US imposed sanctions on two subsidiaries of China's COSCO Shipping.Denmark-based TORM said that growth in global demand for oil products generally remained subdued…

OWC Opens Aussie Office

International engineering consultancy Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) is setting up an office in Australia, as offshore wind plans in the country are moving forward.The International Energy Agency’s recently launched “Offshore Wind Outlook 2019” has identified more than 7,000TWh per year of offshore wind technical potential (roughly 2,000GW of capacity) in waters below 60 meters offshore Australia. The potential adds up to 16,000TWh per year when considering deeper waters.Currently…

VMS Group Expands into West Africa

The Danish maritime service company VMS Group A/S expands into West Africa opening a workshop in Walvis Bay, Namibia. A favorable location combined with a rapidly growing offshore market and fishing fleet creates huge potential for a strong, maritime cluster in this region.Being the only port with service facilities between Cape Town, South Africa, and the Canary Islands, Walvis Bay on the Namibian west coast is a key area for marine traffic in the Eastern Atlantic. This is the reason why VMS Group…

Petronas in Game for a Third FLNG Unit

Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) would build a third floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG)unit if there’s a demand.Petronas is the only company to own and operate two FLNGs, namely PFLNG Satu and PFLNG Dua.Bernama reported, quoting the gas and new energy business executive vice-president and chief executive officer Adnan Zainal Abidin, that if there is a reservoir with a sizeable amount of reserves and with the right gas composition that it is economically viable…