Port of Cabinda beats 2012 container volumes in first half

The port of Cabinda processed 16 000 tonnes of container cargo in the first half of the year, exceeding the 11 500t handled in the same period of 2012, the chairman of the port company, Nazareth Neto, said. In that period, he added, the port of Cabinda management company registered 57 medium draught ships docked at the port, mostly from Europe and some from Africa. As well as foreign ships, Neto told Angolan news agency Angop, 58 cabotage ships and 74 oil tankers also docked at the port. Saying that the port was operating well, Neto noted that it still had difficulties with “calemas” (a wave pattern unique to the African coast) due to the lack of a breakwater which sometimes led to operations coming to a standstill. He clarified that it was a matter of time before the breakwater was built as the funds needed for construction are included in the State Budget approved for this year. “We have problems with docking ships that are over 130 metres long but when the breakwater is built I think there will be a significant increase in port revenues,” said Neto.