West Africa

Further advice on the Ebola outbreak,Lagos,FAQs and International Reaction

Ports of Nigeria
Our correspondents advise that the Nigerian Port Health Authorities have now instructed ports and agents to refuse entry in to Nigerian ports for vessels that have called at Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The exact terms of this new policy are not yet available, and Skuld is investigating further with its correspondents.

It is very likely that vessels which have called at these countries will be subject to greater scrutiny by port health officials, may be denied access and indeed may be subjected to lengthy quarantine.

Members with vessels on route to Nigeria, having called at the mentioned countries recently, should contact the Association urgently for further advice and assistance.

For members planning fixtures to Nigeria it is very important to advise chartering teams of this further development.

Ports of Ivory Coast
Following the notice issued by the Port of Abidjan yesterday, a meeting was held by the Port Authorities to further clarify the terms of the "ban:.

These include:

inbound vessels will be asked to provide the list of their 5 latest ports of call
if any of these were in an infected country and the call took place less than 21 days before arriving then the vessel will not be allowed to enter
Policies for San Pedro are likely to follow soon.

Ebola virus - FAQs
With the assistance of Dr. Bernard Murphy, the Association has now prepared a FAQ, published here, on the virus which will assist in answering many basic questions.

The Association would strongly recommend, however, that should a person fall ill while at any port or in any country experiencing an outbreak or after having been to such a port or country, that urgent and immediate medical assistance is sought.

Members with ill crew should seek to urgently contact the company doctor and advise the Association.

International reaction
A number of countries have taken varied steps in response to the outbreak with respect to both screening of arrivals as well as air travel regulation. In the attached note, the Association highlights some of the measures taken by certain countries.

Furthermore certain airlines have taken their own steps in respect of the outbreak.

The Association would strongly recommend that members who have staff on location, traveling to or through affected countries, carefully review these arrangements and check the latest position with respect to airlines and regulations in the next destination country.

It is likely that unless the virus goes in to remission, that further steps and measures will be taken by countries and airlines. Daily checks may therefore be needed to closely monitor the situation as it develops.

For further information, members are asked to contact the Association: lossprevention@skuld.com