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Since January 2020, Benin’s Navy has been providing armed guards to vessels calling in Cotonou free of charge.

Following an interministerial decree published on 13 July 2020 (see translation into English here), this is set to change.

Following a conflict with the port of Bejaia’s President and General Manager, port workers started an indefinite strike last week.

For the last 18 months or so, vessels calling in Dakar have been confronted more and more frequently with Customs fines. The situation has become progressively more difficult as the grounds on which fines are levied have become more and more diverse, and the amount of the fines themselves have reached astronomical levels.

On 10 April, the Government of Liberia declared a 21-day state of emergency in four counties (Montserrado, Nimba, Grand Kru and Margibi) and put the rest of the country into a 14-day quarantine.

Best wishes for a very Happy Easter to all our friends and clients who will be celebrating this weekend. A special thought for those who are at sea far from family and friends at this difficult time.

On 26 March 2020, China suspended the entry of foreign nationals due to the rapid spread of Covid-19 across the world.

In a circular dated 27 March 2020, Cotonou’s Harbour Master informed all port stakeholders and users that the following measures had been introduced to limit the COVID-19 outbreak:

Following the news that, in a move to limit the spread of the COVID 19 outbreak, Vietnam had closed its courts up to the end of March 2020, Budd Vietnam advises that this measure has now been extended with the introduction of a 15-day period of social distancing starting from today (1 April 2020) onwards.​

On Wednesday, 25 March 2020, in view of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the President of the Republic of Angola declared a State of Emergency throughout the national territory from 00:00LT on 27 March 2020 for a period of 15 days, subject to renewal.

Budd Tunisia reports that Tunisian stevedoring companies have introduced a new requirement for vessels berthing in Tunisian ports.