Maritime Initiative Africa

03/10/2026

🎓 Thinking about a PhD? Fully Funded Studentships Available

Applications are now open for 34 fully funded ESRC PhD Studentships through the South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP), including opportunities at the University of Plymouth.

I am keen to hear from prospective applicants interested in research areas such as:

✅ Maritime business and shipping
✅ International trade and global value chains
✅ Supply chain resilience
✅ Transport and economic development
✅ Sustainability and climate transitions
✅ Digital transformation and sociotechnical systems

Whether you already have a research idea or are still developing one, I would be happy to have an informal conversation about potential PhD opportunities and supervision.

📅 Application deadline: 12 January 2027.

Please feel free to message me directly- [email protected] or connect via the University of Plymouth.

10/09/2026

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Ghana was visiting the iconic TDC Towers in Tema.
As I moved from floor to floor, I realised that almost every office housed someone connected to my professional journey, former students, lecturers, classmates, friends, and acquaintances. It was a powerful reminder of how far our collective maritime community has come and how interconnected our careers and contributions have become.
Today, these individuals are making an impact across the maritime and logistics sector as freight forwarders, shipbrokers, ship agents, maritime administrators, port authority professionals, and educators. Seeing their progress was both humbling and inspiring.
I intentionally used part of my holiday to reconnect with my professional network, and the conversations reaffirmed the value of relationships built through years of learning, teaching, and collaboration.
At the same time, I could not help but notice the level of congestion around the Port of Tema. It raises important questions about the pace of trade growth, capacity utilisation, hinterland connectivity, and operational efficiency, particularly considering that the MPS terminal expansion came online only a few years ago.
The visit was a reminder that while infrastructure investments are critical, continuous adaptation is essential to keep pace with growing demand.

06/07/2026

The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to suspend the newly introduced Ghana Easy Pass Programme, warning that the import verification system will push up business costs and consumer prices.

01/02/2026

Back in my second year as an undergraduate, my dear friend—roommate, classmate, and volleyball setter- Owusu, MHAP, MBA, was doing an internship with the Burkina Faso Shippers Council in Tema. He once mentioned that part of his daily routine was to go through the newspapers each morning and highlight every transport and trade-related story for his boss, Yahaya Yedin (if memory serves me right).

I picked up the habit then, and it’s stuck with me ever since. These days, I pass it on to my students too. A simple routine, but a powerful one- start your week by keeping up with what’s happening across the transport sector. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2026-mobility-ledger-navigating-geopolitical-friction-jonas-aryee--gi48e

Executive Summary The global transportation sector in early 2026 is defined by a critical divergence: unprecedented financial resilience in legacy sectors is clashing with significant structural fragilities in the transition to new technological and environmental paradigms. Analysis of developments

02/12/2025

Boss, your morning brief just confirmed we need a space weather budget.

Half the global Airbus A320 fleet (6,000 jets) was hit with an emergency grounding this week—not by a cyberattack, but by solar flares corrupting the flight control software.

The biggest takeaway? Airbus realized it didn't have full real-time awareness of which software version was on every single plane.

Summary: We’ve gone from worrying about supply chain bottlenecks to worrying about space bottlenecks. Next strategy meeting: Add ‘Cosmic Ray Vulnerability’ to the risk register.

24/11/2025

Change is the only constant

24/11/2025

24/11/2025

Maritime Studies etc. PhD Funding opportunity

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) offers higher degree programmes by research, on a part-time and full-time basis. 

11/11/2025

Interested in advertising your business or showcasing it for partnership/clientele? Contact the administrator for a quick chat, which we will then share with our members.

02/11/2025

Strategic management is now boots on the ground not from boardrooms. See happenings in world transportation and supply chain that impact you: https://youtu.be/rvWBNkXf-QA
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Motion and Means is a global podcast exploring the intersection of transportation, equity, and economic opportunity.In each episode, we dive into the policie...