West Africa News

Norden Expands into West Africa

Danish shipping giant Norden is opening an office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as part of the Company’s continued global expansion.The office will generate new business and focus on contributing positively to the development of the region, the dry bulk and tanker owner said in a press release.“Norden opens offices and employs people with a long-term horizon and that is also the case for our move into West Africa. We wish to come even closer to our business partners and increase our business presence and at the same time be part of and help the region develop by investing manpower…

Monjasa Moves Bunker Tanker to Panama

Danish bunker group Monjasa has transferred a ship from West Africa to Panama, where it carried out its first fuel supply off the coast of Balboa."As part of a fleet reshuffle, Accra arrived in Panama after forming part of Monjasa’s West Africa bunker operation. The tanker fast received all safety and operational approvals from the Panama Maritime Authorities and completed her first fuel supply at Balboa Anchorage on 18 January," said a statement from the marine fuels supplier.Accra is a 2010-built and 8,800 dwt tanker.

Global Piracy Up in 2018, Gulf of Guinea Leads

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…

Seacor Marine Acquires Three Fast Support Vessels

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.

West Africa to Promote Electronic Data Exchange for Vessels

Ships and ports will need to be able to exchange arrival and departure data electronically from April 2019, under International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Facilitation Convention said a press note.There requirements also encourage the use of a single window in which all the many agencies and authorities involved exchange data via a single point of contact. Training in the treaty requirements took place during national seminars in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (13-15 November) and in Nouakchott, Mauritania (20-22 November).

Tilbury Port to Capitalise on Opportunities to Boost Trade

Tilbury Port and the people that work there will play a major role in helping the UK to increase international trade after we leave the European Union.International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox visited Tilbury Port  to meet with port workers and management, as well as members of the Tilbury on the Thames Trust.Tilbury is the fastest growing port in the UK and a £1 billion investment programme will see the port employing 9,000 people by 2020, 3 times more than it did in 2012. One…

The USD1trln African Maritime Industry Mulls Further Growth

The blue economy can be the engine of economic growth, the basis of socio-economic development and industrialization for many African countries, if well utilized.The maritime industry, for example, is estimated at over $1 trillion, and there are other related and emerging sectors of tourism, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive industries, marine biotechnology and bio prospecting.Said Adejumobi, Southern Africa Director, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said that  the Economic Commission for Africa is fully committed to supporting the African Union…

Missing Tanker Docks in Togo after Suspected Hijacking

A tanker with 19 crew members on board has docked at a port in Togo after going missing for over a week in a suspected hijacking off the West African coast, the crew's agency said on Friday.The Ialkani agency and the ship's managers lost communication with the Panama-registered Pantelena on August 14, when it was about 17 miles (27 km) from the port of Libreville, in Gabon.Two Russian nationals and 17 Georgians were aboard the vessel, a dual purpose oil or chemicals tanker managed by Athens-based Lotus Shipping.

Unipec Suspends US Oil Imports as Trade Spat Intensifies

China's Unipec, the trading arm of state oil major Sinopec, has suspended crude oil imports from the United States due to a growing trade spat between Washington and Beijing, three sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.It is not clear how long the temporary halt will last, but one of the sources said Unipec has no new bookings of U.S. crude until at least October.Unipec and Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner and biggest buyer of U.S.

DNV GL Secures Shell Penguins Contract

DNV GL has won a cross-service contract to support Shell's Penguins Field redevelopment on the UK Continental Shelf.The contract with Shell involves a team which will deliver an integrated verification and class project for the operator's Penguins floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.DNV GL is providing integrated Verification and Class services to the project. This will be led by a team in UK Oil & Gas, collaborating with the DNV GL Offshore Class unit in Norway and the DNV GL yard team in China and the Philippines.Justin Fletcher…

Short Sea Providers Partner with Navis to Optimize the Vessel Stow

On-premise vessel stowage software StowMan takes feeder liners and logistics providers to the next level of vessel stowage planning. Navis, the leading provider of vessel stowage planning solutions, announced that in the first half-year 2018 five feeder liners, including Tehama Shipping and Transinsular, have selected the on-premise stowage planning solution StowMan. The partnership with Navis aims to improve vessel stowage planning and an effective load list handling in order…

Ocean Rig Announces New Contracts

The international contractor of offshore deepwater drilling services Ocean Rig UDW  has entered into a new drilling contract with Chariot Oil & Gas Limited for a one-well drilling program, for drilling offshore Namibia.The contract is expected to commence in direct continuation of the previously announced program with Tullow Namibia Limited in the third quarter of 2018 and will be performed by the Ocean Rig Poseidon.Ocean Rig has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a European Major Oil Company for a firm two-wells program plus two optional wells…

Fraser to Head DNV GL’s Noble Denton Marine Services

DNV GL has appointed Neil Jamieson Fraser as its new head of Noble Denton marine services in the UK and West Africa. The role will focus on marine warranty, marine advisory/assurance, technical assurance, and advanced engineering services. Fraser  has worked with DNV GL for more than 25 years and has held a number of senior positions within the company in the UK, West Africa and most recently, in South America. He recently returned to the UK after nearly four-years based in Rio…

South Africa Cruise Ports Nominated for World Travel Awards

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) operated Ports of Durban, Cape Town, and Elizabeth have been nominated for the Africa & Indian Ocean segment of the 25th annual World Travel Awards in the category of “Africa’s Leading Cruise Port 2018”.Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards seek to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. Global travel and tourism industry leaders will be recognized at the various World Travel Awards gala ceremonies, with Durban hosting the Africa and Indian Ocean segment for the third time.

First-Quarter Returns From the Universal Port of Hamburg

This year’s first-quarter throughput total at the Port of Hamburg was notable for a rise in conventional general cargoes, a lower figure of bulk cargoes, a stable trend in container handling and distinct growth on container transport services by rail.In the first quarter of 2018, the Port of Hamburg achieved total throughput of 32.7 million tons (down 7.5 percent). In Hamburg this heading covers general cargo throughput of 22.7 million tons (down 1.8 percent) and bulk cargo throughput of 10.0 million tons (down 18.2 percent).

Diesel Tankers Turn to New York after Stocks Drop

Tankers carrying diesel from Asia and Europe, including a giant 200,000 tonne cargo, are sailing towards New York where fuel supplies have dropped to a three-year low in recent weeks.The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Maran Aphrodite changed its destination on Friday to New York from its previous port of Rotterdam, according to Reuters ship tracking data.The vessel, which traders said was chartered by Total, left Singapore earlier this month.Several tankers have also been booked to go from Europe and the Baltics to the port of New York, a relatively rare route.

Gambian President Barrow Visits Antwerp Port

A collaboration agreement was signed on Thursday 24 May, in the port of Antwerp between on the one side Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the consultancy and investment subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, and APEC, its maritime training centre, and on the other Gambia Ports Authority which manages the port of Banjul in The Gambia. The collaboration, which will mainly take the form of training and consulting, underlines the leading role that the port of Antwerp plays in West Africa. As part of a visit to Belgium the delegation from The Gambia headed by H.E.

VLCC Carrying Diesel Changes Destination for Third Time

New-build VLCC Maran Aphrodite, which is carrying a 200,000 metric ton diesel cargo from Asia, has changed its final destination for a third time, according to Reuters ship-tracking data.The ship was originally calling on Rotterdam before changing its destination to New York harbour on May 11, then to Gibraltar on May 29 and as of June 5 it is calling on Southwold in the U.K.The tanker is currently off the coast of West Africa.The vessel was chartered by Total, according to traders.(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; editing by Jason Neely)

CNPC ships first larger-sized diesel cargo to Brazil

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) shipped a 60,000-tonne cargo of diesel in late May destined for Brazil, the Chinese major's first move of the refined fuel in a shipment of this size to the Americas, an inhouse newspaper reported on Monday.Chinaoil, CNPC's trading unit, has shipped nearly one million tonnes of diesel to Latin America since 2015, but mostly with medium-ranged tankers able to carry about 40,000 tonnes, the report said.The shipment to Brazil was loaded with production from Liaoyang Petrochemical Corp, a subsidiary refinery of CNPC, at Bayuquan port in Liaoning province in nor

Douala Cameroon, Antwerp Join Hands

The ports of Antwerp and Douala in Cameroon are to collaborate closely with each other over the next five years. The collaboration agreement was signed on Wednesday this week during an extensive visit by Antwerp port representatives to the port of Douala in Cameroon. Douala port authority  is counting on the Antwerp know-how in order to boost the efficiency of its port operations, among other things. For Antwerp the agreement represents a way to maintain and further strengthen its position as market leader in West and Central Africa.

CARENA Acquires New Dock

The Compagnie Abidjanaise de Réparation Navale et de maintenance industrielle (CARENA), subsidiary of the Bolloré Group and the SOFIA Group, just acquired a 3rd dock, enhancing the operational capacity of West Africa’s biggest shipyard. With this new dock, CARENA is increasing its hosting capacity by over 40 %. With this 175-metre-long and 26-metre-wide piece of equipment – a nearly 5 billion CFA Franc investment – CARENA’s teams now have more space to accommodate larger ships and receive new clients.

Maersk Expands Online Platform Service Scope

Maersk Line takes further steps towards simplifying the supply chains of its customers by expanding the service scope on its online platform ship.maerskline.com to cover more major trades and addressing customers'pain points. The new scope on the platform will cover customers exporting from ports of Shanghai and Ningbo in Eastern China and Qingdao in North China, to all Mediterranean destinations; expanding from the current three Northern China ports (Qingdao, Xingang and Dalian) to West Africa, South Africa and East Coast South America.

Pirate Attacks Worsen in Gulf of Guinea - IMB

A surge in armed attacks against ships around West Africa is pushing up global levels of piracy and armed robbery at sea, warns the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB). IMB's Piracy Reporting Center recorded 66 incidents in the first quarter of 2018, up from 43 for the same period in 2017, and 37 in Q1 2016. Worldwide in the first three months of 2018, 100 crew were taken hostage and 14 kidnapped from their vessels. A total of 39 vessels were boarded, 11 fired upon and four vessels hijacked. IMB received a further 12 reports of attempted attacks.

Bollore Under Formal Investigation in Africa Graft Probe

A French judge on Wednesday placed tycoon Vincent Bollore under formal investigation over allegations his company undercharged for work on behalf of presidential candidates in two African nations in return for port contracts.Bollore's company, Groupe Bollore, announced the decision by Judge Serge Tournaire, which came after Bollore had been questioned for two days by French fraud police.Bollore, whose logistics empire is a powerhouse in former French colonies across West Africa…

Hapag-Lloyd Focuses on Africa

Hapag-Lloyd celebrated the official opening of its new office in Tema, the most important port city in Ghana. Beginning immediately, Hapag-Lloyd will manage all its activities in West Africa from this location. “I’m very pleased that our enhanced presence in West Africa is showing initial signs of success,” said Anthony Firmin, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hapag-Lloyd. “Our West Africa Express (WAX) service from and to West Africa has been operating with extraordinary success for several years and is very well received by customers.

Buyers Seek US Waivers to Buy Iranian Oil amid New Sanctions

South Korea said on Wednesday it would seek U.S. exemptions to buy Iranian oil, a path many big oil consumers are likely to follow in the wake of new U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which will tighten world oil markets and push up prices.Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a key supplier, especially to refiners in Asia.The United States plans to impose new unilateral sanctions after abandoning an agreement reached in late 2015 which limited Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for removing joint U.S.-Europe sanctions…