Guinea’s emergence as a source of great cargoes for the cape trades and China’s booming electric vehicle manufacturers is increasingly being joined by other West African nations. Led by Guinean stems, capesize and above parcels ex-West Africa have increased by a per annum growth rate of 19.6%...
GABON
African flags flying high in the dark fleet era
The remarkable rise of a number of African flags providing services to the so-called dark fleet shows no sign of slowing. Gabon has become a top 30 shipping register this year, according to Clarksons Research, its fleet growing by 122% in 2024 to 6.9m gt, of which 6.3m are tankers. A month prior to...
https://splash247.com/african-flags-flying-high-in-the-dark-fleet-era/
COLUMN | Failing flag states, abandoned crew and piffle from Palau [Offshore Accounts]
This week, I want to look at how the shipping industry can overcome some of its biggest challenges – not greenhouse gases and climate change, nor sexism and homophobia, but the problems of abandoned crews, excessively long tours of duty, and the low safety standards that bedevil the wider maritime...
Gabon and Eswatini registers added to ITF’s flags of convenience list
Two shipping registries that have been making plenty of Splash headlines this year have been added to the list of flags of convenience (FOC) tallied by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). Gabon and Eswatini – both flags strongly associated with so-called dark fleet transportation...
https://splash247.com/gabon-and-eswatini-registers-added-to-itfs-flags-of-convenience-list/
BW Energy enters $150m sale and leaseback deal for Gabon platform
Oslo-listed BW Energy has executed a sale and leaseback agreement with China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing for the MaBoMo production facility on the Dussafu Licence offshore Gabon. The agreement will provide $150m of gross sales proceeds under a ten-year lease term with an option to repurchase the...
https://splash247.com/bw-energy-enters-150m-sale-and-leaseback-deal-for-gabon-platform/
COLUMN | Safety culture matters: Pemex and Perenco on the wrong side of history [Offshore Accounts]
Offshore is one of the industries with the biggest risk profiles in the world. When bad things happen in offshore, people die, often there are explosions and sinkings, fires and oil spills, and the environment can be badly polluted, killing seabirds, fish, dolphins and coral, and inflicting...
COLUMN | Perenco’s shame and Gabon’s lax standards: a fatal combination [Offshore Accounts]
In an industry is awash with cash and record profits, it is tragic to see five people confirmed dead in an accident on a Perenco platform offshore Gabon, and one other worker still missing, presumed also killed, as per the most recent update. Last Wednesday, there was a fire on the Becuna platform...
Fire on Perenco platform off Gabon leaves five dead and one missing
An incident on Perenco’s Becuna platform offshore Gabon has resulted in five worker fatalities with one worker still missing. An incident involving fire occurred at the Becuna platform on Wednesday, March 20, at approximately 3:25 pm local time. The area has since then been secured, the fire has...
https://splash247.com/fire-on-perenco-platform-off-gabon-leaves-five-dead-and-one-missing/
OPINION | Russia’s shadow tanker fleet runs into trouble
Barring new evasive techniques by Kremlin technocrats, the rapid rise in Russia’s shadow tanker fleet since the Ukraine war may be reversing as pressure is brought to bear on India and other countries that have discreetly helped Russia beat oil and gas shipping sanctions. The agency waging its own...
Sovcomflot reflags en masse to Gabon
Gabon, a small Central African nation on the Atlantic coast, was last year’s fastest-growing shipping registry. In the opening days of 2024, its growth has been phenomenal thanks to a massive reflagging operation conducted by Russia’s top shipping concern, Sovcomflot. Last year, the Gabon flag...