Namport e-Newsletter February 2020

February 2020

Six Months Review Of The New Container Terminal

February 2020 marks 6 months after the commissioning of the Namibian Ports Authority’s new container terminal on reclaimed land. The Authority presented a brief 3 months review in November 2019 and would like to highlight several achievements since then.

Productivity

The operations team at the terminal recorded the highest productivity in a decade at a rate of 36 moves per hour. However, within a space of five days, the team managed to record an impressive 39 moves per hour, which is a current record. Previous moves per hour recorded was 26 moves per hour, which were increased to 30 moves per hour subsequently.

Indeed a milestone to celebrate since when training began back in 2019. It should be worth mentioning that as a standard, 6 months training on Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes is the norm, however, the operations team only had about 6 weeks before the date of commissioning. Therefore, we applaud the team for their dedication and hard work, persisting and consistently aiming to increased levels of productivity.
 

In order to enhance productivity, Namport decided to take hands with all stakeholders involved at the terminal, both internal and external and instituted a Productivity Improvement Project (PIP). Stakeholders meet on a regular basis at the terminal to address all and any issues that may hamper productivity and give recommendations to mitigate these issues. This platform also assists with various training aspects identified, such as skills shortages and plans to fill these gaps.

TEU Handling

Namport has been receiving enquiries from potential clients who are eager to move business through the terminal. This is a positive sign not only for Namport but also for Namibia economically. For the period of August – December 2019 the port has moved 69 166 TEUs. While in 2020 approximately 15 927 TEUs thus far, estimated at 85 000 TEUs since August last year to mid-Feb 2020.

The terminal has not seen full capacity as of yet. With the current global economic state, the terminal has not been operating at full capacity. However, the port has seen positive changes in terms of volume at the terminal especially from August to November. Namport is aware that there are other players along the west coast and what happens at other ports affects the Namibia ports as well.
 

The terminal is currently still operating in project mode, as there are still minor aspects to be completed, for example, ICT features to still fully test before full transitioning and several projects in terms of automation at the new container terminal, such as the “zero-error system” for maintaining yard integrity. The Port started with an ICT solution for breakbulk, which will be rolled out in April this year.

Passenger Liners

Namport has seen an influx of Passenger liners at both ports since the commissioning. AIDA Cruises, a German cruise line, has been one of the cruise liners overnighting at the Port of Walvis Bay. Earlier in January, the MSC Orchestra made its maiden voyage to the port of Walvis Bay and 3000+ passengers and crew members disembarked, venturing into Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. 

MSC South Africa Managing Director, Ross Volk, expressed his excitement with the announcement that MSC cruise ships will be visiting the Port of Walvis Bay and Port of Lüderitz on a more regular basis in the next season from the Port of Cape Town. According to Mr Volk, “From next season we will have 2 vessels based in Southern Africa, one doing the east coast and one the west coast. So, instead of us only have 2 – 3 calls in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, we going to have a vast number of calls, in fact, 22 from Cape Town”. 

Activities at the old container terminal

Currently, Namport is receiving the same traditional multipurpose cargo vessels, passenger vessels, RO-RO vessels, fishing and container vessels, sulphur, rail, salt, general and project cargo received prior to the new container terminal.

A notable achievement for both the country, Meatco and Namport is the first beef export to the USA through the port of Walvis Bay. This makes Namibia the first eligible African country this opportunity. Meatco will send 860 tonnes initially, which will be increased to 5700 tonnes per year.

Uis Tin Mine shipped its first shipment of tin concentrate to Thailand. The concentrate is trucked to the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia, then shipped to Thailand. AfriTin Mining Limited, the company managing Uis Tin Mine, aims to ramp up the production capacity to 60 tonnes of tin concentrate per month.

The Port of Lüderitz on the trajectory path

The Port of Lüderitz is on the trajectory note towards economic acceleration as reflected in the country’s Harambee Prosperity Plan. In recent time, the Trans Oranje Corridor route that links the port of Lüderitz has experienced tremendous volume increment and thus the ideals of becoming a logistics hub are noticeable.

Exceptional clientele services from the Port of Lüderitz’ operational team, with a world-class record of moving more than 10 000 tons per day, has culminated in a demand for more mining houses to knock at its door with an intention to make use of the Port.

According to the Marketing Specialist at the Port of Lüderitz, Mr Cecile Kamupingene, the Port’s current volume has increased from 600 000 tons per annum to more than 800 000 tons and “we anticipate this trend to continue”.

Apart from the above, Debmarine Namibia’s operation is gradually relocating to the Port of Lüderitz from Port Nolloth, South Africa and as a result, an escalation in terms of activities inside the port in comparison to the previous financial year is also noticeable.

The port has also recorded a significant increase in passenger vessel calls at the harbour town, which directly speaks to an increase in tourism activities. Local taxis and tour bus operators are thus tapping into these opportunities by transporting tourists to heritage sites around the town such as Kolmanskop and the ever-popular Diaz Point. 

Mr Kamupingene further emphasized that “we anticipate for a very good year through collaborations and synergy amongst all stakeholders within the logistics industry in order for us to attain our ultimate goal of being a logistics hub in the SADC region and thus, we will be able to create more employment opportunities for the locals and in the same vein create niche industries”.

In the current financial year 2019/2020, the Port of Lüderitz has so far received 8 passenger vessels and is expecting 8 more to call its port as opposed to only 10 vessels that called the same port in the previous financial year 2018/2019.

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signs an MoU with the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) and the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque (GPMD) for the implementation of a EUR 650k technical cooperation project

Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque (GPMD) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of a technical cooperation initiative on the occasion of a high-level French business delegation visiting Namibia.

The project grant, funded by AFD for a maximum total amount of NAD 10,6Mn (EUR 650k) is aimed at supporting a win-win partnership between the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque and the Port of Walvis Bay. Through peer-to-peer exchanges and consulting services, it will seek to improve the performances of the Port of Walvis Bay in a regional and international perspective; while providing a stronger positioning of the GPMD on the maritime flows involving Southern Africa and Europe. GPMD will also provide its expertise for the implementation of a “green port strategy” at the Port of Walvis Bay.

“The maritime sector strongly contributes to our economy, and we, therefore, pay special attention to the development of our relationships with strategic foreign partners. This has been a topic of common interest between French and Namibia Governments, and I am very pleased to see that the collaboration between our two ports is entering into a concrete phase of implementation”, Mr Raison, Chairman of the Management Board of the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque, said.

The signing ceremony of this tripartite MoU was held with the participation of Mrs Valérie Létard, Vice-President of the French Senate and Senator of the Hauts-de-France region, stating: “Our region is one of the main economic areas in Europe, with a direct access to five capitals (Paris, Brusells, London, Amsterdam and Luxembourg) and three seafront ports (GPMD, Boulogne sur mer and Calais) forming the first port system in France. Like in Namibia, we benefit from a dynamic fishing industry, and we are very keen on strengthening the synergies between the stakeholders of this sector and our ports”.

As a sheltered deep-water port, the Port of Walvis Bay plays a strategic role in Namibia’s development. It recently extended its terminal container and expressed great interest in benefiting from the expertise of GPMD in order to improve port operations through identified strategic areas of cooperation.

“Our mission is clear, that as Namport we strive to provide world-class port experience to all users of our ports, as well as to meaningfully contribute towards Namibia’s transformational agenda that of becoming a Logistics Hub for the Southern African Developmental Community (SADC)”. Mr Kavin Harry, Acting CEO, Namport, said.

In addition to this grant, the Agence Française de Développement will be in discussions with Nampot to support the company’s potential investment needs, through soft loan financings. After the opening of its office in Windhoek last year, AFD is willing to support the implementation of the Namibian National Development Plan (NDP) including the transport sector.

Duinesig Combined School Received a Donation from
Namport Social Investment Fund (NSIF)

The Namport Social Investment Fund (NSIF) on Friday, 14 February 2020 officially delivered books to Duinesig Combined School in Walvis Bay for their library to the tune of N$50 000.00.
 

A variety of books were delivered to entice a wide audience of learners and cultivate reading in the school. There are various genres, from contemporary to basic, mainly focusing on literature that accommodates the school's curriculum.
 

The principal of Duinesig Combined School, Mr Uri-khob, thanked the NSIF for the generous donation. He remarked that “These books will serve our library for the next 3 years”. He noted that the school has other pressing needs as well, such as a shortage of school desks for learners.
 

NSIF was established in late 2006 to position Namport as a responsible corporate citizen who is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the development and upliftment of the people of Namibia.
 

The Fund wants to become a partner together with Namport’s stakeholders, and other relevant parties with a proven track record in the development and upliftment of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in Namibia.
 

NSIF has 4 critical areas, namely Education, Health, Entrepreneurship and community development and Environment as its main focus.