12| INFORMANTÉ
14 November - 20 November 2013
Lüderitz harbour - gateway for South
Aerial photo of the Lüderitz Port
Tugboat guiding ship to harbour
Pilot boarding vessel for docking
Docking
Abnormal cargo transported from the harbour
THE Lüderitz harbour has the potential to serve as an important gateway and logistics base for various
mineral operations, as well as the
petroleum industry after a range of
modern industries have sprung up in
southern Namibia.
The Namibian Ports Authority,
NamPort, will have the responsibility
of ensuring that this potential is being
utilised to its fullest extent.
Traditionally, Lüderitz has been a
fishing port serving the needs of the
Namibian fishing industry at a national
level, yet, more recently, the offshore
diamond industry, as well as other mining activities, have spread their wings
in the South and Northern Cape, and
started using this harbour to import and
export their products.
“NamPort has invested in major developments of the harbour, to handle
larger vessels and more traffic, and the
port is also an important shore base for
oil and gas drilling operations off the
southern coast. The port of Lüderitz is
strategically located on the southwestern coast of Namibia, and offers excellent logistical services and links to other towns in Namibia, as well as South
Africa. We boast with short turnaround
time for the fruit industry exports to
Europe, particularly grapes from Aussenkehr and from the Northern Cape
Province,” said Lüderitz Port Manager,
Max Kooper.
According to him, there are future development plans for a deep-water port
at Angra Point in Lüderitz, as well as to
integrate the fuel facility development
with the tanker berth at the deep-water
port, to serve the southern region of
Namibia and Northern Cape Province
of South Africa. NamPort conducted a
feasibility study, the report which can
be obtained from the office of the Lüderitz Port Manager.
Kooper added that in terms of infrastructure development, a new 500m
quay provides for efficient and safe
cargo and handling container facilities
for importers and exporters, and as part
of its future development, NamPort has
commissioned a feasibility study to address the need to provide separate and
dedicated bulk facilities that will cater
for the mining and related industries.
According to him, the bulk facility
will alleviate the congestion which the
neighbouring ports experience, due to
the mining sector, in the ports catchment area.
Currently, the Lüderitz port is handling 348 000 tonnes of cargo per annum, with the main commodities being
zinc, zinc concentrate, sulphur, fish,
Lüderitz Port Manager Max Kooper.
and diesoline, while 1 350 ships visit
the harbour annually.
In the meantime, Rosh Pinah Zinc
Corporation has diverted the export of
zinc concentrate from Walvis Bay to
the port of Lüderitz. “This operations
will add, in terms of volume, 120 - 140
000 tonnes per annum to the current
340 000 tonnes the port handles annually. The business will improve the
socio-economic well-being of the community, as well as the business in the
town of Lüderitz.”
Another exciting development that
will change the economic landscape
of the South, with the Lüderitz harbour that will play a pivotal role, is the
completion of the Aus-Lüderitz railway
line.
“The railway line rehabilitation to the
port of Lüderitz will be completed by
the second quarter of 2014. NamPort is
currently preparing for the rail portion
within the port itself. The exploration
of a twinning agreement between the
//Kharas Region and the Northern
Province of South Africa, will subsequently lead to a constant inflow of cargo, especially manganese and iron ore
from the Northern Cape Province. The
train will further serve as a means of
transport for passengers,” said Cooper.
Current projects underway at the
harbour are the upgrading of the cold
storage facilities to EU standards to accommodate the export of Aussenkehr
grapes to the EU and Far East, and the
upgrading of the current reefer terminal
capacity from 72 reefer plugs to 200
reefer plugs.
Kooper concluded by pointing out
the unique advantages of the Lüderitz
port, which includes its berth availability and space, also the fact that the
roads to Southern Namibia, the Northern Cape, and Botswana are clear from
bridges, have a low traffic flow which
promotes the importing of mining, solar and wind power equipment, and the
availability of enough land for development opportunities.
Zinc concentrate from Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation being off-loaded at the harbour