Ships drop anchor around Gabon as country shuts down after coup (updated)

Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S

30/08/2023 14:34

(Adds Hapag Lloyd comment, further detail in paragraphs 7-12)
    By Jonathan Saul
       LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - At least 30 commercial ships
dropped anchor on Wednesday around Gabon's waters after military
officers said they had seized power in the Central African
country, according to data and maritime sources. 
    Military officers in the oil-producing country said they had
put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, after the country's
election body announced that he had won a third term. Borders
were closed and state institutions were dissolved. 
    There was already a build-up of vessels backed up on
Wednesday.    
    The vessels included commercial cargo ships as well as
tankers that had stopped near to the country's major ports
including Owendo, near to the capital Libreville, and Port
Gentil further south, ship tracking data from analytics company
MarineTraffic showed on Wednesday.
    British maritime security company Ambrey said port
operations in Libreville had stopped and no vessels had entered
or departed the port since the announcement of the coup.
    "Ambrey is aware that movements in and out of Gabon have
been closed down following an early morning announcement by
military officials," it added in an advisory.
        German container shipping group Hapag Lloyd  HLAG.DE 
has one of its vessels currently in Libreville and the ship is
unable to sail due to the border closures, a company
spokesperson said on Wednesday.
    Ship tracking data showed a separate container vessel
operated by Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk  MAERSKb.CO  also
moored in Libreville. Maersk did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.     
    Assala Energy, which is wholly owned by Carlyle Group CG.O,
said its oil production in Gabon had been unaffected. 
    Ambrey added that despite disruption in Gabonese ports,
offshore terminals remained operational.  
    Danish shipping group NORDEN  DNORD.CO , which operates port
logistics in the country for a project with manganese mining
company Comilog, said that its main priority was to ensure the
safety of employees and its operations in Gabon. Comilog is a
subsidiary of French metallurgical group Eramet  ERMT.PA .  

 (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Alex Richardson and
Conor Humphries)
 ((jonathan.saul@thomsonreuters.com; + 44 207 542 4357 ; Reuters
Messaging: jonathan.saul.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))