A positive response from shipping to the Ebola crisis

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The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is much worse than official figures show, according to the US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says it is in danger of “spiralling out of control”. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization estimates that the number infected will reach 20,000 within the next six to nine months. Shipping lines have heeded the warnings from their P&I Clubs about vessel calls in West African ports and in several cases have rescheduled their ships and imposed ‘Ebola surcharges’. So it is good to see that the Japanese shipping line MOL has announced that it is making a donation of much-needed materials and medical equipment to assist Liberia in its fight against the shocking virus.