New data released by the International Transport Workers’ Federation reveals that ship and seafarer abandonment is spiralling and reached the critical levels in 2025 with 6,223 crewmembers facing abandonment last year across 410 ships.

SOUTH AFRICA: Today’s court ordered public auction of the SA Agulhas will seal the fate of the country’s first ice breaker which was sold to a private entity almost exactly two years ago with aspirations to continue the vessel’s legacy as a training ship and extend her lifespan by up to 15 years.

CABO VERDE: The European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a €34 million investment grant to support the rehabilitation and expansion of Cabo Verde’s main ports and shipyard. The grant complements €114 million in EIB financing signed in 2024, forming a roughly €148 million concessional financing package for strategic investments in port infrastructure.

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa’s national ocean- climate science programme, the Southern Ocean Carbon - Climate Observatory (SOCCO), has received funding from Schmidt Sciences to join a global interdisciplinary team for research on the global carbon cycle’s influence on climate change.

SOUTH AFRICA: Newcomer to the South African landscape, Global Fuel Supply, together with Blue Energy Partners has officially opened an office in Cape Town as the company continues to focus on an African expansion strategy that included the acquisition of a bunker barge for Angola last month.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Delivering the keynote address at the Blue Forum, held on the margins of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2026, Dr Patrick Herminie, President of the Seychelles, last week called for collective global action, urging governments, financiers, and innovators to work together through cooperation, innovation, and sustained investment to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable water and ocean systems.

TANZANIA: The Dar es Salaam Maritime Training Academy (DMTA) has requested accreditation to teach basic maritime courses as part of the country’s impetus to increase basic skills in the maritime transport sector.

SIERRA LEONE: Providing improved seismic data in Sierra Leone’s offshore basins, TGS has successfully completed the Sierra Leone Fusion 3D (Vision) multi-client reprocessing project.