SOUTH AFRICA: The South African fishing industry has never experienced the incident-free year that it was aiming for since the establishment of the Fishing Vessel Safety Unit and the hosting of the Fishing Safety Indaba by the South African Maritime Safety Authority, but 2024 will stand out as the year that emphasises the need for a more concerted approach to safety within the sector.

OPINION PIECE: Every ship that leaves a shipyard with a substandard water treatment system will pollute the oceans for the next 25 years writes Peter Lanzén, co-founder of Marinfloc as he identifies this hidden crisis that has a devastating impact on our marine ecosystems.

MAURITIUS: An extension of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aiming to promote sustainable development and address key challenges in the Indian Ocean region, was signed between the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), last week, in Ebène.

SOUTH AFRICA: With boat races, knot tying and luxury yacht cruises on the programme at this year’s boat show in Cape Town this weekend, visitors will have ample opportunity to engage with services, equipment and boats that aim to spark their interest in adopting an ocean lifestyle.

ANGOLA: With a target to maintain crude output above one million barrels per day (bpd) beyond 2027, Angola used the Angola Oil and Gas Conference at the beginning of the month to call on investors to seize opportunities created by recent regulatory reforms to drive projects forward.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: ECOWAS states met this week to promote a framework for regional cooperation to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region.

SOUTH AFRICA: Presenting ambitious plans to bolster their maritime training output to the industry, the South African Maritime Training Academy (SAMTRA) provided details relating to the expansion of their current facilities as well as their intention to work closely with the Department of Higher Education and the maritime education and training sector as a whole.

SOUTH AFRICA: Some of South Africa’s inconic boats will be on display next week as local boat builders once again welcome visitors on deck for tours that they hope will ignite an interest in water activities to grow the country’s boating fraternity.