Liner operators are putting pressure on Namport to lower its tariffs and to improve productivity in the ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz Bay. Namport will have to revisit its fee structure if it wants to attract traffic away from other ports in the region to Walvis Bay, says Willie Prosser, chairman of the Container Liner Operators Forum (Clof). “Namport is chasing business away. While South Africa dropped the fees for export containers Namport increased its fees by 6%. This is despite a 50% drop in productivity,” he says. This makes Walvis Bay port less attractive for exports via
the corridors from landlocked countries, he says. In addition, shipping lines have moved away from Walvis Bay as their preferred transhipment hub to other West African and South African ports. This is due to a combination of rate increases and poor port productivity, according to Prosser. For Namport this has meant a significant loss in volumes and revenue. But, there are solutions. Clof and other logistics
organisations, together with the Walvis Bay Port Users Association member companies operating out of Walvis Bay, are ready and willing to work with Namport to solve the challenges it is facing, he says. “The port and the industry cannot survive alone on the local captive business,” he told FTW. One of Namport’s first priorities is to ensure that it has the right skills in place – the kind of management and staff who
ensure that it consistently improves productivity and efficiencies year after year and retain the experienced and skilled staff. This has not happened over the last ten years, says Prosser. He believes the opening of the new terminal may well provide the impetus needed for the necessary changes to be made within Namport – and for the state utility to start working more closely with the private sector. Namport executive manager commercial, Tino !Hanabeb, told FTW that the organisation was open to working in partnership with private companies, and that it had identified the need to increase the training of its staff at all levels.
Namport is chasing business away, having increased its fees for export containers by 6%. – William Prosser
