Maersk moves into new premises as business expands

MAERSK IS helping turn the port of Walvis Bay into a major logistics and transhipment hub for the region. Having outgrown its offices in Third Street, Walvis Bay, Maersk Line has moved into a new building across the road. The new premises allow for future growth as Namport invests US$1.3-billion in a new deepwater container quay and handling facility. Maersk, which already tranships through Walvis Bay, will be able to expand its operations, says Maersk Namibia’s managing director Ingrid Uppelschoten- Snelderwaard. Business is already growing as more importers and exporters are cutting costs through the shorter transit times to Europe and the Americas from Walvis Bay, which is the most efficient southern African port on the west coast. There have also been shortterm benefits to the move of the offices. Clients have seen an immediate improvement in service levels as staff are more comfortable and feel more motivated in the new building, which came with an image makeover and modern furniture, says Uppelschoten- Snelderwaard. She heads up the Maersk and Safmarine operations in Namibia. Both are doing “very nicely,” she says, with “steady growth” in both imports and exports. The Walvis Bay operation caters primarily for traffic to and from the Far East, Europe and North America, and then “into Africa,” with Angola bound freight showing one of the biggest increases. “There is a lot of demand as the Angolan government rebuilds the country. Freight is coming from all continents in the world,” she says. Reefer exports on the Maersk vessels are dominated by frozen fish to Spain, while there is increased demand for zinc ore, which is shipped through Lüderitz Bay to the East, she says.