Looking back on 2021 and the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Namibian Ports Authority can confidently declare that we are stronger and more resilient. It was a taxing year with global economic setbacks within the logistics and shipping industry; from container shortages to escalating shipping costs. However, Namport managed to weather the storm.
With 2 months remaining of the current financial year, we would like to share a few highlights for the past 9 months, April – December 2021. The Ports Authority saw 4% increase in cargo landed and 13% increase in cargo shipped, compared to the same period for the previous financial year. That reflects an increase of 5%. This can be attributed to the total cargo volumes increasing by 21%.
The top 3 commodities for the Port of Walvis Bay shipped over the current period were bulk salt, charcoal and fish and fish products, and the top 3 commodities landed were petroleum, wheat and sugar. At the Port of Lüderitz, the top 2 commodities landed was petroleum and wet fish, and the top 2 commodities shipped was manganese and ice.
The overall volume throughput for the Port of Walvis Bay also saw an increase of 2.6% for imports and 8% for exports, as well as the Port of Lüderitz with 34,200 MT (86.81%) for imports and 143,933 MT (24.88%) for exports. The total vessel calls increased by 22% for both Ports and 16.6% for TEU’s handled.
With the current financial year ending on 31 March 2022, Namport is positive to more growth for the current year compared to the previous financial year. In a more celebratory light, Namibia has seen a decrease in daily COVID-19 cases amidst the Omicron variant, and we trust that this trend will continue for the remainder of 2022 and beyond.