SEYCHELLES: Captain Jean-Paul Fanchette took up position as the new Harbour Master for the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) at the beginning of August and was presented with his epaulettes at a ceremony on 2 August.

OPINION PIECE: Andrew Pike, Senior Consultant, Bowmans South Africa discusses the implications of creating a single economic regulator for the transport sector as set out in the Economic Regulation of Transport Act of 2024  – highlighting concerns that have been raised that the consolidation of the various transport regulators would lead to overreaching and unnecessary regulation.  Delving into the National Ports Act, he notes some potential conflicts between the two pieces of legislation.

CAPE VERDE: Plans to establish a new shipping line by the end of 2026 were discussed at a meeting in Praia attended by a diverse group of maritime stakeholders.

SOUTH AFRICA: Mike Vonk will take over from Dr Cleeve Robertson as the new CEO of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) at the beginning of October.

“It is shocking that financial institutions that do business in Africa continue to practice financial apartheid by cutting off capital and financing to oil and gas companies operating in Africa because of climate concerns. These same institutions fund gas development in Europe, where natural gas is deemed green and a fossil fuel for Africans,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC).

SOUTH AFRICA: The Maritime Business Chamber (MBC) and EThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the objective of addressing a number of critical areas in the maritime industry aimed at training, transformation and business support.

Recognising the threat posed by maritime employees who make use of their authorised access to perpetrate a security breach within their companies, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has released a toolkit to help the industry respond better.

COMOROS: The islands of Comoros has received a major boost to finance its maritime and port ambitions following the approval of a $135 million package from African Development Bank in support of the Maritime Corridor and Regional Trade Facilitation Project (PACMFCR).