Bulk and break-bulk volumes for the last financial year, as reported by Namibia’s ports authority, have shown an overall increase of 23%, Namport has said.According to Taná Pesat, corporate communications manager, “the surge was largely due to a rise in import commodities, such as copper concentrate, sulphuric acid, sulphur, petroleum coke, chemicals, iron ore, and ammonium nitrate.“Notably, there was also an increase in export commodities, including salt, base metals, coal, copper concentrate, copper, ship spares, other minerals, sulphur, frozen fish, petroleum products, and lubricating oil.”At the Port of Walvis Bay, cargo throughput from April to March increased by 21% year-on-year (y-o-y), improving from 5 512 196 TEUsto 6 667 746 TEUs y-o-y.Down south in Lüderitz, the picture is less rosy, where throughput decreased from 1 064 174 TEUs to 1 024 025 TEUs, down by 4%.Overall, Namport said 7 691 781 TEUs had been moved in the last financial year, compared to 6 576 370 TEUsthe previous year.Pesat said: “While the overall TEUs handled in the 2022/23 financial year declined y-o-y by 7 395 TEUs or 4%, the decrease was primarily due to reduced transhipment volumes.“However, container import and export volumes recorded a y-o-y increase of 0.4% and 9% respectively.“The increments were a result of a surge in containerised import commodities, including but not limited to chemicals, clothing, dangerous cargo, electrical equipment, electronic goods, empty tanks/containers, frozen fish, frozen poultry, household and personal effects, machinery, malt, mechanical appliances, medicine, paper and paper products, polyethylene, rice, spare parts, steel, sugar, tyres, and vehicles.“Additionally, there was an upsurge in containerised export commodities such as charcoal, copper, frozen fish, granite, marble, mechanical appliances, polyethylene, salt, scrap steel, and wooden products (timber).”Pesat added that the marine segment had also recorded some noteworthy developments during the financial year that ended on 31 March 2023:“There was a 3% y-o-y increase in vessel calls, which amounts to 44 additional calls.“The increase can be attributed to increased calls by dry bulk, petroleum, passenger, reefer, patrol, and research vessels.“Consequently, the vessels’ gross tonnages increased by 2.9 million tonnes or 14.9%.”Furthermore, there was a y-o-y increase in the occupancy of the Syncrolift facilities, with the repair jetties’ occupancy rising from 54% to 64%, and the repair bays’ occupancy increasing from 47% to 52%.
