Namport’s grand plan includes vessels up to 6000 teus

A THREE-YEAR development plan will soon get under way at the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia – eventually extending the container terminal capacity to more than 5 00 000-teus, and with the port able to take bigger container ships up to the 4 000-6 000-teu size. “This will not only greatly increase the capacity of the harbour, but improve the efficiency of container and material handling, and develop the port infrastructure to world-class standards,” Namport marketing manager, Jerome Mouton, told FTW. The new container terminal project is due to kick off in the last quarter of this year, he added, and be completed at the end of 2010, early 2011. It will see the container quays extended by 320-metres, giving the port four container berths capable of handling four smaller container ships, or three of the larger, new-generation vessels. The first phase will also include new ship-to-shore cranes capable of loading/ unloading containers from large container ships. These will be backed up by six new rubber tyre gantries (RTGs) able to stack containers fivehigh, speeding up the handling and sorting of containers and improving efficiency. The port is also to be dredged deeper to take vessels up to 15-m draught. “The second phase,” said Mouton, “will be a further expansion of the terminal to increase capacity to above 500 000-teus.” Bulk and breakbulk handling is not forgotten, with Namport erecting a new bulk fluorspar shed with a capacity of 20 000-tonnes and acquiring a set of relocatable, mobile sheds for breakbulk. With its close proximity to the fast-expanding Angolan oil fields, the development of the port of Walvis Bay will also include acquiring a second, 8 000-t floating dock – due for delivery in mid-May. This will be added to its current complement of docking facilities – including its other 8 000-t floating dock, and a Synchrolift docking platform with a capacity of 2 000-t. It's designed to handle the off-shore supply ships to the oil fields, and offer a full oil rig repair facility.