Cameroon has given the owner of the Black Rhino 15 days to remove the container ship from the access channel of the Port of Douala-Bonabéri after it ran aground following a collision earlier this month, as authorities seek to prevent further disruption at the country’s main maritime gateway.

The vessel, which is carrying about 150 containers, has remained stranded in the channel since the accident on the night of July 11-12. Within eight days, the shipowner must submit a final report prepared by its appointed experts, outlining the technical solution selected and a detailed recovery plan.

Specialists from marine salvage firms Wave Group and SMIT have already arrived in Douala. The MSM Dolores, a vessel that could assist in the operation, is also reportedly ready to depart from Bata in Equatorial Guinea.

The recovery plan must detail each stage of the operation, including stabilizing the vessel, removing containers, lifting and towing procedures, refloating operations, safety measures, pollution prevention, and the expected timeline.

If the shipowner fails to submit the plan within the deadline, the government will issue a formal eight-day notice. Should the company still fail to act, the authorities may carry out the operation themselves at the owner’s expense, in accordance with Cameroonian law.

Collision Blocks Part of the Access Channel

The measures were announced after a crisis meeting chaired on July 20 in Douala by Transport Minister Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe.

The collision occurred during the night of July 11-12 in the port’s navigation channel. It involved the Sea Honor, a Tuvalu-flagged cargo ship leaving the port, and the Cyprus-flagged Black Rhino, which was entering the harbor.

The Black Rhino sustained damage near its bridge and was at risk of sinking. The Port Authority of Douala immediately activated its emergency response team.

The Sea Honor was freed and later towed to an anchorage area for repairs. To prevent it from sinking, the Black Rhino was intentionally grounded alongside the channel’s red buoy line, allowing maritime traffic to continue as much as possible. All 15 crew members were evacuated safely, and no fatalities were reported.

Navigation Restrictions Remain in Place

Although shipping resumed a few hours after the collision, the stranded vessel and its cargo continue to restrict navigation through the channel.

According to preliminary findings from the Port Authority of Douala, a steering failure aboard the Black Rhino may have caused the accident. However, that theory remains subject to the ongoing technical investigation.

The inquiry will determine the exact circumstances of the collision and assess the responsibilities of both vessels, their crews, and any other parties involved in the port maneuvers. Keeping the ship in the channel continues to pose operational risks by reducing maneuvering space, limiting access for some vessels, slowing traffic, increasing waiting times, and raising costs for shipping companies.

Authorities are also monitoring environmental risks, including potential hull damage, fuel leaks, and the possibility of containers falling into the water.

Strategic Trade Route at Stake

The Port of Douala handles most of Cameroon’s maritime trade and serves as the main gateway for cargo bound for Chad and the Central African Republic.

Any prolonged disruption to the navigation channel could therefore affect imports, exports, and supply chains in all three countries. The government’s ultimatum reflects its determination to speed up the recovery while ensuring that the shipowner bears the cost of the operation.

Beyond the immediate response, the accident has also highlighted the operational constraints of the Port of Douala’s busy and physically limited navigation channel, where incidents can quickly disrupt maritime traffic.

For the government, the priority is to remove the vessel as quickly as possible, maintain uninterrupted port operations, and preserve confidence among shipping companies.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Cameroonian government has launched a sweeping offensive against systemic fraud in its gold mining sector, revealing a massive international smuggling network that has siphoned billions from the national treasury. The crackdown exposes severe discrepancies between officially declared domestic production and the enormous volumes of gold arriving in the United Arab Emirates from Cameroonian borders.

The scale of the illicit financial flow highlights a continent-wide crisis in resource governance. Much like the regulatory battles waged by Kenya’s Ministry of Mining to control artisanal gold smuggling along the Kakamega-Migori greenstone belt, Cameroon’s aggressive intervention underscores the desperate need for African nations to reclaim sovereignty over their extractive industries.

The Staggering Discrepancy In Data

The trigger for the nationwide crackdown stems from a shocking revelation buried in the 2023 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report. According to Cameroon’s Directorate General of Customs, the nation officially exported a meager 22.3 kilograms of gold throughout the entire year. However, cross-referenced international trade data presented a radically different reality: foreign jurisdictions, predominantly the UAE, reported importing 15.2 tonnes of gold with its origin explicitly traced back to Cameroon.

Acting Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Fuh Calistus Gentry, addressed the media in Yaoundé, confirming the devastating economic impact of this parallel market. Authorities calculate that the unchecked export of gold to Dubai’s booming refineries has cost the Cameroonian state approximately CFA 2,000 billion (USD 3.5 billion, equivalent to KES 455 billion) in lost tax revenue over the past five years.

“The main problem does not necessarily lie in the disappearance of gold belonging to the state, but in the under-reporting of part of the production by certain private operators,” Minister Gentry noted, pointing to a sophisticated system of corporate tax evasion rather than simple border smuggling.

Targeting The Semi-Mechanized Miners

In response to the hemorrhage of resources, President Paul Biya ordered immediate investigations into the smuggling rings, prompting the Ministry of Mines to shutter nearly 200 illegal mining companies predominantly operating in the resource-rich East and Adamawa regions. Official intelligence indicates that over 95 percent of these identified illicit operations are run by foreign nationals who exploit loosely regulated artisanal frameworks.

To reopen, suspended operators are now subjected to rigorous new regulatory thresholds. The government has mandated the introduction of minimum gold delivery quotas—demanding a baseline production declaration of 5 kilograms per month for companies operating five production units. Furthermore, operators must transition entirely to closed-circuit processing systems within six months to ensure complete ore traceability and prevent environmental devastation from mercury runoff.

Environmental Bonds: Defiant companies must now pay a mandatory environmental bond of CFA 63 million (KES 14.3 million) to guarantee the rehabilitation of destroyed landscapes.

Permit Abuse: The government identified rampant abuse of exploration permits, which are strictly meant for assessing deposits, being illegally utilized to conduct full-scale commercial extraction.

Judicial Action: The Ministry confirmed that 137 specific cases involving unauthorized mining activities have already been forwarded to competent courts for criminal prosecution.

Global Parallels In The Fight For Traceability

Cameroon’s struggle is emblematic of a broader global challenge. The UAE has increasingly become the epicenter for African gold, absorbing hundreds of tonnes of metal sourced through opaque supply chains from countries like Sudan, Mali, and Zimbabwe. By tightening controls, Cameroon aims to disrupt the upstream entry points of these illicit flows.

The situation resonates deeply across East Africa. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) face similar challenges tracking revenues from the artisanal sectors in Western Kenya, where informal brokers buy raw gold at depressed prices and smuggle it out via porous borders to global refining hubs. Cameroon’s decision to enforce a minimum delivery threshold offers a potential regulatory blueprint for Kenya and Tanzania to formalize their artisanal output and capture lost foreign exchange.

The Economic Stakes for Yaoundé

Having adopted a comprehensive new mining code in 2023, Cameroon is aggressively banking on the exploitation of its vast reserves of gold, cobalt, diamonds, and iron to diversify an economy heavily reliant on crude oil. However, as the 15-tonne discrepancy proves, legislative codes are meaningless without robust enforcement mechanisms at the extraction sites.

As the Ministry of Mines deploys police and military units to forcefully dismantle non-compliant gold-bearing gravel processing units, the message to international investors is clear: the era of extracting Cameroonian wealth under the guise of artisanal exploration has officially ended.

Source: Sreamlinefeed.com