A workshop was held in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, from 20 to 24 February to improve the country’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively in the event of an oil pollution incident. The event was the result of Guinea Bissau’s request for help in developing their National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) from the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF).

IMO officials visited Alexandria, Egypt from 10 to 14 February to commence liaising on plans to open an IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) there for the Middle East and North Africa. The office will be situated within the premises of the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety (EAMS) in the port of Alexandria. 

Member States and observers at IMO paid their tribute to the victims of the earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria on 6 February 2023, causing widespread destruction across densely populated cities and claiming more than 46,000 lives so far, with the numbers sadly increasing by the hour.

On 9 February the US Coast Guard issued Safety Alert 04-22-CH1 from Washington, DC.

This Safety Alert addresses the importance of verifying the correct arrangement of handholds in embarkation gate arrangements aboard merchant vessels.

It is understood that the Coast Guard is currently investigating a casualty

It was reported from Accra, Ghana, on 15 February that experts from the Maritime Just Transition Task Force had told Africa’s maritime leaders that their continent was well placed to take a large share of the new jobs and training places expected from shipping’s green transition.

A new one-stop-shop portal which aims to support the implementation of the Just in Time (JIT) arrivals concept has been launched.

It is understood that the free-to-access portal was developed by the Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (Low Carbon GIA) and is hosted on the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 project website. This reported by IMO in a briefing on 8 February.

That is the title of a document launched by the British Government on 9 February.

This document brings together all the UK’s policies and strategies relating to the Arctic under a single, integrated framework. It outlines the full range of UK interests in the region, and sets out the long-term priorities and objectives which shape the country’s engagement and actions in the Arctic.

Designating transport workers, including seafarers, as keyworkers and ensuring such workers’ needs and challenges are voiced during a pandemic are among the recently published recommendations from a joint United Nations and industry sector action group.

IHMA is pleased to introduce its newest Commercial Inland and Coastal Marina Systems.

About Inland and Coastal Marina Systems

It was reported on 3 February from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska that staff from the US Coast Guard (USCG), Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), and Navy Supervisor of Salvage (SUPSALV) participated in an ice-based pollution response exercise at the base in Anchorage from 30 January to 3 February.