The oil plattform 'Atwood Achiever' could arrive occupied Western Sahara Friday 15 November. There it will do the first drilling in occupied territory, ever.
In two to three days, the vessel 'Atwood Achiever' will enter the waters of occupied Western Sahara. A few weeks later, the drilling will commence.
The platform will most probably arrive Western Sahara waters on Friday, 15 November 2014, depending on the length of the stop-over offshore Senegal.
It was last seen departing from Namibia two weeks ago (see video below).
The vessel has sailed directly from there in the direction Western Sahara and is now offshore the Senegalese city of Saint Louis, where it is apparently bunkering supplies. It is accompanied by two anchor handling/supply vessels, Eland (IMO 9653757) and Springbok (IMO 9683996) who have sailed in from Mauritanian waters. The two latter vessels are owned by US company Edison Chouest Offshore LLC.
Any new oil exploration in Western Sahara is in violation of international law, according to the UN. The people of the territory protest the engagement, which the operator, Kosmos Energy, is undertaking in partnership with the occupying power of Morocco. Read more about the controversial and illegal oil programme here in our report A Platform for Conflict.
Both supply vessels, Eland and Springbok, sailed southwards from Mauritanian waters today down to Saint Louis to assist the vessel.
Record low number of importers of Western Sahara phosphates
Only three companies imported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara in 2025 - the lowest number ever recorded. The findings appear in our annual P for Plunder report, released today.
The conflict phosphates - four decades of plunder
For over 40 years, a Moroccan state-owned company has exported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).