A spate of hijackings and armed robberies over the last two months have put at least 44 crewmembers at risk and raised concerns about a resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the off the coast of Somalia.

MADAGASCAR: A regional study tour to promote the sustainable octopus fisheries, harvesting, handling, processing, marketing and conservation was hosted in the city of Toliara, Madagascar last week where octopus fishing remains vital to the coastal community.

SOUTH AFRICA: A public participation process is under way for revised Environmental Management Programmes covering four offshore production rights off Mossel Bay held by PetroSA in Block 9. The notice, published this week, invites the public to comment on the amended programmes by 28 May.

EGYPT: With two tugboats under construction for the export market, and the contract for another two signed,  the Suez Canal Company (SCA) is currently negotiating to build a additional tugs as well as a barge and yacht.

Developing countries, in particular small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), can now apply for financial support to attend a key meeting on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping later this year.

KENYA: “No single nation can address the maritime threat matrix in isolation,” the Commander of the Kenya Navy, Major General Paul Otieno, told an audience last week.

MAURITIUS: A full-scale simulation exercise saw some 200 emergency responders participate in joint multi-agency emergency and response training to enhance response mechanisms and readiness to hazardous threats.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have released a revised Rescue Guide, a tool to help all partners uphold the humanitarian and legal duties to rescue refugees and migrants in distress at sea and bring them to safety.