Cheikh-El-Mokrani

A crew member of the "Cheikh El Mokrani" risked his life diving off the side of the ship to save a whale that had got stuck in a fishing net. The crew of the tanker spotted the large mammal writhing around in the water, desperately trying to get free. After just a moment's consideration, one crew member hurled himself off the deck and into the sea below. He swam towards the huge animal and pushed its nose away from the net. Another crew member then joins him and together they manage to get the sea creature free. Report with photos: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/heroic-sailor-risks-life-diving-10269729

Algeria plans to increase natural gas shipments to Asia where the fuel costs more than in Europe, the Sahara nation’s traditional market, state-oil company Sonatrach Chief Executive Officer Abdelhamid Zerguine said. “There is stiff price competition in Europe,” he said at a conference today in the capital city of Algiers. “We will focus our efforts on selling more in Asia where prices are 50 percent higher.” The North African country’s capacity to load gas on tankers will rise this year as it expands two plants that liquefy the fuel for seaborne shipments. Africa’s largest gas producer, Algeria also exports the fuel to Europe through three pipelines spanning the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria’s gas shipments dropped 11 percent last year to 45 billion cubic meters, according to Societe Generale SA estimates. The country’s deliveries have declined since peaking in 2005 at 65 billion cubic meters as local consumption increased 40 percent and production fell 12 percent.