Samba service now calling at Walvis Bay

Namibia is certainly getting a fair share of the world’s ocean liner trades calling at the Port of Walvis Bay – with a new Maersk/Safmarine direct import service connecting the Middle East with this west coast harbour. The first vessel in the “Samba” service – sailing west-bound to South America from the Middle East – arrived at Walvis Bay during the first week of April, marking the start of weekly sailings on the trade. The port rotation, according to a Maersk spokesman, is: Jebel Ali; Walvis Bay; Vitoria; Itajai; Paranagua; Rio Grande; Santos; then return to Salalah in Oman. “This will now provide a direct product between the Middle East and Namibia,” he said, “whereas previously, all this cargo went via SA. “It has definitely improved the transit timing, cutting about 10 days off the voyage sailing direct rather than transhipping via the Port of Durban.” And, in common with other services now calling at Walvis, a lot of the cargo transiting the Namibian port is eventually bound for Angola. Agnetha Mouton, business development officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, agreed. “The majority of the consignments that benefit from the service are primarily destined for Angola,” she told FTW. “There has been a significant increase in the transportation of vehicles, furniture and machinery destined for Angola along the Trans-Cunene Corridor through the Port of Walvis Bay.” Indeed, she added, the Walvis Bay Corridors offer immense opportunities to importers and exporters in the surrounding states, providing a reliable and shorter transit route between the inland and the overseas markets. “This new service, therefore, also offers a new product to other markets in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region – providing shorter transit times for imports from the Middle East to Angola, Botswana, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Gauteng region of SA.”