Andrei Kharchanka | OST Colloquium: Intermediaries in Shipping

More than 10,000 people have died in West Africa following the current outbreak of Ebola, which began in March 2014. Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria are the worst-affected countries. Although until now no port on the West African coast was closed, local authorities have started to restrict entrance of vessels that previously called on neighboring countries affected by the outbreak. Additionally, there are examples of crews refusing to enter ports in countries where outbreak of the disease has been reported. The disease caused hysteria not only in West Africa, but also far away from the actual epicenter.