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Several People Missing after Cargo Ship Sinks Off Liberia
At least seven people are missing after a cargo ship that had been barred from sailing sank off the coast of Liberia, the country's Maritime Commissioner said on Sunday.The Liberian-registered Niko Ivanka left the capital Monrovia on Saturday morning for a port in the country's south, despite being under a Liberia Maritime Authority detention order for failing to meet basic safety requirements.The…
China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Built Asphalt Carrier Sports Schottel EcoPellers
A new bitumen tanker for Rubis Group of France is currently under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. The 15,000-dwt ship will be driven by twoSchottel EcoPellers and one TransverseThruster. Designed by Swedish FKAB Marine, the vessel will be deployed in West Africa for asphalt transportation services.The main propulsion of the carrier will include two electrically driven Schottel EcoPellers type SRE 560 (2,050 kW each), featuring fixed pitch 3.1m-diameter propellers.
Asyad Looks Abroad for Possible Expansion
Oman's state-owned Asyad is considering buying ports and terminals abroad and could divest assets outside its core logistics business, such as a college and project management operation, its chief executive said on Thursday.The plans by the company, which is owned by the Oman Investment Authority, align with the small oil producing Gulf state's broader strategy to reduce reliance on crude revenues…
Violence Disrupts Shipping at the Port of Durban
South Africa's Durban port has suffered major disruption after days of unrest, and operations have also been badly affected at the Richards Bay port and on a national freight rail line, logistics and freight companies said on Wednesday.The violence erupted last week in KwaZulu-Natal province, where Durban is located, after the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma but it has rapidly escalated in widespread…
Shipping Industry Seeks to Combat Dark Oil Transfers at Sea
Top oil shipping companies say they have tightened operational guidelines and deployed technology to prevent accidental breaches of sanctions, as the countries hit by ever tougher restrictions fight back with elaborate strategies to dodge them.Washington has ramped up shipping-related sanctions over the last two years to make it harder for countries, such as Iran and Venezuela, to export the oil that provides their main source of revenue.In response…
Maritime Security Conference Kicks Off in Ghana
Africa's largest annual maritime security conference kicked off in Ghana this week amid a sharp rise in piracy and armed robberies in the Gulf of Guinea over the last 12+ months.Hosted by the Ghanaian Navy and Air Force in Accra from July 6-8, the International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC 2021) has brought together several West African Chiefs of Naval Staff and government leaders such as the Vice President of Ghana…
McDonald Named ABS Chief Operating Officer
John McDonald will become ABS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as Tony Nassif has announced his plans to retire on December 31, 2021.As part of the company’s succession planning process, McDonald will assume the head operations role on July 26, 2021. Celebrating 25 years of service with ABS this year, McDonald joined ABS in 1996 as a surveyor and served in various frontline operational roles in Korea…
Solstad's Normand Energy Vessel Nets West Africa Charter
Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore said Tuesday it had won a contract in West Africa with an unnamed key client.The contract is of the construction support vessel Normand Energy, which will support subsea operations in West Africa. Normand Energy is a large construction vessel equipped with a 250 tons active heave compensated crane and a working deck of 2000m2.The vessel will start operations under the contract in the third quarter of 2021.
Seven Migrants Drown After Boat Capsizes off Italy
At least seven migrants, one of them pregnant, drowned after a boat carrying them capsized five miles off the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Wednesday, officials said.About 10 other people were missing, Luigi Patronaggio, the chief prosecutor of a team leading investigations into the deaths, told Reuters.The migrants are believed to have started their journey in Tunisia, said Patronaggio, who…
ABB Azipods Propel World's Largest Civilian Hospital Ship
ABB’s Azipod propulsion will help Global Mercy enter less accessible harbors off the African coast, while reducing vibrations and noise – crucial to the comfort of up to 200 patients and medical personnel on board.With about 5 billion people lacking access to surgical care globally, international charity Mercy Ships uses hospital vessels to provide surgeries and medical assistance for free to people who have little access to healthcare.
S.Africa to Revamp Ailing Port System
South Africa's National Ports Authority (NPA) will operate as a stand alone business under the aegis of state-owned freight logistics group Transnet, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday, as the country tries to overhaul some of the world's worst-performing ports.A report last month ranking container ports by the World Bank and IHS Markit saw South Africa's major ports at the bottom of the list, with Durban faring the worst among local peers by coming in at 349 out of a total of 351 ports a
Maersk VC co-leads Funding Round in Egyptian Freight Logistics Start Up
Egyptian startup Trella, a digital platform connecting truckers with freight loads, has raised $42 million in equity and debt, including from the venture capital arm of shipping giant Maersk, its chief executive said.Founded three years ago in Cairo, Trella operates in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. It is one of several technology firms around the world seeking to upend traditional truck brokerages.Through Trella's online platform…
Elcome Opens Algeciras Office
Elcome International, provider of maritime systems integration, technical support and shipboard service, announced the opening of another office in Europe. Based in the Spanish port city of Algeciras, the facility will offer sales and technical support for the company’s growing portfolio of ship navigation, communication, satellite connectivity and coastal surveillance systems. Shipboard services will include annual radio surveys and annual testing of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS)…
Chevron Marine Lubricants Expands in Africa
Chevron Marine Lubricants announced a plan to boost its presence in African ports, extending its joint venture with Akwa Group. Chevron is now an equal partner in Afriquia Lubrifiants, with plans to extend the blending, distribution, and marketing business beyond Morocco to markets in sub-Saharan Africa.The agreement enables theJV to manufacture Chevron’s premium products locally for the first time, including Chevron Marine Lubricants’ product portfolio.
Bodies Wash up on Yemen Coast after Migrant Boat Reportedly Sinks
A number of bodies washed up at Ras al-Arah on Yemen's Red Sea coast on Monday from a suspected migrant boat that sank offshore, a local official said.The stretch of coast is notorious for the smuggling of migrants from the Horn of Africa into Yemen.Residents in Ras al-Arah said bodies had washed up at dawn on Monday. A boat sank around 18 nautical miles off the coast of al-Mokha, the local official said.The perilous sea journey from Horn of Africa countries including Ethiopia…
Proserv Acquires Dron & Dickson's Abu Dhabi Business
Oil and gas services company Proserv Controls, has acquired the Middle Eastern operations of Dron & Dickson Electromechanical Contracting (DDEC) LLC, for an undisclosed fee. DDEC is a UK-based specialist in the supply, assembly, and maintenance of hazardous areas and industrial electrical equipment."The deal reinforces and expands the breadth of offering and capability that Proserv delivers in the Middle East and North Africa…
NYK Subsidiary, MarCoPay Test Paying Seafarers' Salaries in Digital Currency
An NYK Group shipmanagement subsidiary has begun to pay seafarers’ salaries in digital currency issued by MarCoPay Inc., a joint venture of NYK and the Transnational Diversified Group in the Philippines.After a successful March 2020 trial distributing electronic currency to seafarers at sea for the first time in the world, MarCoPay Inc. subsequently received approval from Philippine ministries and…
Technip Energies Hires Havfram for Tortue Ahmeyim FPSO Work
Norwegian offshore services company Havfram, previously known as Ocean Installer, has won a contract with Technip Energies in Africa.The contract is for the pre-installation and subsequent hook-up of the subsea mooring system for a natural gas FPSO to be deployed at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, on the maritime border of Mauritania and Senegal.Technip Energies in 2019 won a contract from BP for the engineering…
Ocean Infinity Acquires Ambrey
After it in recent months acquired MMT and Abyssal, marine robotics and offshore survey company Ocean Infinity has now acquired maritime services company, Ambrey for an undisclosed fee.UK-based Ambrey offers offshore services including, security, crisis and risk management, intelligence, insurance, fleet operation, and vessel design and build.With a management team of over 150 full-time staff globally together with over 1350 contractors and crew…
AVEVA, IMI Extend Collaboration
AVEVA and International Maritime Industries (IMI) extended their existing long-term collaboration with a new strategic partnership, a partnership designed to advance…
Maritime Piracy
Houthi Rockets Wreak Havoc on Middle East Container Shipping
Narco-Submarines: The Hidden Depths of Drug Trafficking
Drug Smuggling on Ships and Submarines: An Escalating Threat
Maersk revises profit forecast upwards due to robust demand and disruptions in the Red Sea.
Global Shipping Carriers Are Feeling the Impact of the War in Ukraine and the Middle East
Maritime Piracy in the Horn of Africa:
Houthis Declare All-Out War on Israeli Shipping, Vowing to Strike Beyond Red Sea
Injustice at Sea: Greek Court Drops Charges in Deadly Migrant Shipwreck
