Competition good news for shippers

The gloves are now off in the fight for business between ports serving the Southern African Development Community – and the winners are shippers and the regional economy. This is evident when FTW talks to the port authorities in Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. Harbours are also being upgraded or new ones built. On the west coast of Africa the new-look port of Walvis Bay will be competing against upgraded or new harbours planned for Angola and Nigeria to the north and Saldanha Bay to the south. Transnet is targeting the oil industry at Saldanha, which is being positioned as an oil services hub. Walvis Bay wants to retain and grow its share of the business, and has already started work on the SADC Gateway Port that will include what the Namibian Ports authority describes as a “world class ship and ship repair yard plus oil and gas supply base”. It is estimated that there are 100 rigs operating offshore around Africa, with 120 rigs a year being towed primarily to Asia for repairs. When its new container terminal is opened, Walvis Bay will also be able to compete against Cape Town and other South African ports for traffic from the Americas and Europe in particular. Walvis Bay does not have the same wind problems as Cape Town and could replace it as a hub for West Africa, giving shipping companies a choice, along with a new commercial port at Dande in Angola and Lekki in Nigeria.