Walvis hits record handling speed

The Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia has just hit a record container handling speed of 40 moves per hour, working two Maersk vessels calling at the harbour, according to Agnetha Mouton, business development officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group. This is a first ever in the history of the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), she told FTW, requiring advanced planning and co-ordination between the port operations department and that of the line. Namport achieved yet another record in the exercise, for the first time using four mobiles cranes at the same time on each vessel. In the case of the Maersk Jena, a total of 463 containers were moved – with a vessel turnaround in seven hours. For the Maersk Pembroke, the port moved 836 containers within 14 hours of vessel arrival. “In order to attract more shipping lines to Walvis Bay it is important that the port focus on continuously improving efficiencies,” said Mouton.