Business

Dozens brought ashore after oil tanker and cargo ship collide in North Sea

Published

4 months ago

March 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

FILE: Oil tanker near the port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo on the Gulf of Finland, 7 January 2025, illustration © AP Photo

An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea off the UK coast on Monday, triggering a major rescue mission.

UK authorities launched lifeboats and firefighting vessels to the scene some 10 nautical miles out from the city of Hull after an alarm was sounded at around 11 am CET, authorities said.

“A coastguard rescue helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats … an HM Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with firefighting capability,” a coastguard spokesperson said on Monday.

At least 32 casualties have been brought ashore, according to Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East. Their condition is not immediately clear.

Initial reports showed fire and thick black smoke pouring from both ships. Boyers said that there had been a “massive fireball” when the vessels collided.

The incident involved a US-registered oil tanker, Stena Immaculate, and a Portuguese container ship called the Solong, registered in Madeira, according to ship tracking website Vessel Tracker.

The tanker was listed as sailing from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi, while the cargo vessel was on course from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The Stena Immaculate is the larger of two ships, listed as being 183 metres long and 32 metres wide. The Solong is 140.6 metres long and 21.8 metres wide, according to ship tracking site Marine Traffic.

The site data shows Solong was drifting at 0.3 knots according to its last tracked position.

The UK Coastguard says it was assessing a “likely” counter-pollution response, although it isn’t known what the oil tanker was carrying at the time of the incident.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “concerned” to hear of the collision between the two vessels. She thanked “all emergency service workers involved in their continued efforts in responding to the incident.”

The Met Office said visibility was poor in its morning forecast for Yorkshire and Humber.

“Areas of fog and low cloud lifting as winds increase through the morning, with some warm, if rather hazy sunny spells expected in places for a time,” the weather agency said.

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Business

Dangote Sugar, Oando, other stocks push NGX to N1.185tn gains

Published

2 days ago

June 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Oando, Dangote Sugar and other stocks have propelled Nigerian Exchange Limited, known as the Nigerian Stock Market, to a significant N1.185 trillion single-day gain.

Accordingly, NGX market capitalisation increased by 1.57 percent to reach N76.761 trillion, up from N75.576 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,466.87 points, or 1.22 percent, settling at 121,257.69 from its previous close of 119,790.82.

Other stocks that fueled the bullish run on Wednesday are Cileasing, Champion Breweries, and 59 other stocks.

Consequently, Ekwutosblog reports that market breadth closed positive, with 63 gainers and 17 losers.

On the gainers’ table, Dangote Sugar rose by 10 percent, closing at N48.40, while Oando Plc also increased by 10 percent, settling at N68.75 per share. Then, Cileasing grew by 9.98 percent, finishing at N5.18, and Champion Breweries soared by 9.98 percent, ending the session at N10.91 per share.

Also, Computer Warehouse Group gained by 9.95 percent, closing at N11.60 per share.

Meanwhile, conversely, University Press dropped by 6.25 percent, finishing at N6.00, while RT Briscoe fell by 6.12 percent, closing at N2.30 per share.

Multiverse Mining declined by 4.89 percent, settling at N8.75, and Meyer shed 4.69 percent, ending the session at N9.15 per share.

In another level of analysis, a total of 861.67 million shares worth N26.18 billion were exchanged across 22,896 transactions.

This is compared to 868.68 million shares worth N23.71 billion that were traded across 22,207 transactions earlier.

Market data showed that transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 82.98 million shares worth N1.66 billion. Accordingly, Caverton Offshore Support Group followed with 64.18 million shares valued at N319.69 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 60.62 million shares worth N3.45 billion.

Also, Ja Paul Gold traded 56.26 million shares valued at N115.35 million, and Access Corporation sold 48.59 million shares worth N1.12 billion.

Business

Naira continues depreciation against dollar at official forex market

Published

2 days ago

June 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The naira continued depreciation against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate data on Wednesday showed that the Naira weakened slightly to N1,549.26 on Wednesday from N1,549.04.

This means that the Naira marginally dropped by N0.22 against the dollar on Wednesday.

Ekwutosblog reports that this is the third time Naira has recorded depreciation against the dollar this week.

Meanwhile, at the Naira black market, the Naira gained N5 on Wednesday to close at N1,590 per dollar, up from N1,595 the previous day.

This showed that the naira ended Wednesday with sentiments at both foreign exchange markets.

Recall that on Monday and Tuesday this week, the Naira depreciated at the official market but has remained relatively stable at the black market.

Business

Tinubu, Cardoso rally stakeholders as Afreximbank meeting begins in Abuja

Published

3 days ago

June 25, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

President Bola Tinubu and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, have rallied stakeholders as the African Export-Import Bank Annual Meeting takes off in Abuja, Nigeria.

The meeting will hold from Wednesday, 25th, to Friday, 28th June, 2025.

Tinubu, represented by his special economic adviser, Tope Fasua, highlighted the significance of Afreximbank to the economic prosperity of the African continent.

On his part, the apex bank governor, Cardoso, lauded the strides of Afreximbank.

“From an initial capital base of $750 million—a relatively small amount by international standards—the bank has expanded its capital assets to over $40 billion as of the end of last year,” he stated.

The AAM 2025 has in attendance an avalanche of chief executives of banks in Africa, senior officials of government, captains of industry and participants across the continent.

The event with the theme “Building the Future on Decades of Resilience” reflects Afreximbank’s objective to unlock economic prosperity for Africa.

The spokesperson of the bank, Vincent Musumba, on Tuesday announced that the bank’s assets rose to $40 billion from $4 billion under the leadership of outgoing President, Prof. Benedict Oramah.