SOUTH AFRICA: Noting the recent reclassification of the African Penguin to critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Democratic Alliance (DA) is urging the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to accelerate the publishing and implementation of the African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan which has been in a draft for some years now.

Four pilot projects, including two from Africa, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ports in Africa and the Caribbean are ready for implementation, following their selection under the IMO CARES Global Technology Challenge which was launched in November last year.

NIGERIA: Attending the 2024 World Maritime Day parallel event in Spain, Nigeria’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, used the opportunity to articulate the country’s intention to seek election onto the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) council at the next elections.

Global commodity prices are set to tumble to a five-year low in 2025 amid an oil glut that is so large that it is likely to limit the price effects even of a wider conflict in the Middle East, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook. Even so, overall commodity prices will remain 30% higher than they were in the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

SOUTH AFRICA: The annual event aimed at showcasing South Africa’s boatbuilding prowess closed yesterday after a full programme of events that sought to attract local marine enthusiasts and promote increased interaction with ocean activities.

The latest Review of Maritime Transport released last week highlights several bright spots across Africa’s shipping sector with port calls by container increasing by 20% between 2018 and the first half of 2023.

SOUTH AFRICA: Representing an investment of some R150 million, Balancell officially opened their new state-of-the-art Gigafactory in Ndabeni, Cape Town with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Deputy Minister of Trade Industry and Competition Andrew Whitfield.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Illegal fishing, inadequate management frameworks, and a lack of cooperation among national agencies continue to thwart sustainable fisheries governance in the Gulf of Guinea, but a training workshop held this week aimed to enhance the capabilities of environmental officials.