The port of Walvis Bay proudly held a christening ceremony for its brand new Liebherr mobile crane at the harbour last Friday. With the name "Gladiator" given, the 390 t crane definitely lives up to its reputation as it can lift a fully loaded 12-ft container. At the ceremony, the new CEO, Mr Sebby Kankondi said the acquisition of yet another harbour crane of this calibre brought NamPort another step nearer to build NamPort out as the "first choice, world-class port service provider, in Africa". Given the growth worldwide in the container business, this would be the arena of future growth for NamPort and the Walvis Bay harbour. "We are simultaneously looking to utilize the Walvis Bay Transport Corridor Development initiative to initiate a Southern Route, served by the Port of Lüderitz," Kankondi said. The minister of works, transport and communication, Moses Amweelo, who christened the crane, said the new acquisition was also a major milestone for the SADC region, with Walvis Bay being the first western port for landlocked countries surrounding Namibia. Freight turnover at the port is 2.5 million tonnes per annum.

The new crane can serve Post Panamax vessels and lifts 100 tonnes at 22 metres on the hook or 35 tonnes - a fully loaded 12-foot container- at 48 metres. Due to its unique undercarriage design the crane is highly manoeuvrable, a vital requirement with the lack of space sometimes experienced on the quayside. The undercarriage design, based on the concept of the Airbus aircraft, allows for individual hydraulic suspension of each axle set which in turn increases the mobility of the crane on rough terrain and decreases axle loads on the quay infrastructure.

Meanwhile the board chairman of the NamPort on Wednesday this week announced in Windhoek that the port authority would have to build a new synchrolift to relive the congestion at the ship repair dock. In the next few weeks six new parking bays will be constructed for ships, presently only five exist. Tenders for the new synchrolift of 10 000 t will be advertised soon, with construcit0on to commence by April 2004. The new synchrolift will cost about N$ 250 million and the funding is to be secured by means of equity funding, the chairman, Mr Shakespeare Masiza told journalists.