Syncrolift - Namport’s vessel repair facility at the Port of Walvis Bay

At the Port of Walvis Bay, Namport offers a thriving ship repair facility to the shipping industry. A wide range of ships, including many vessels employed in the offshore sector along the west coast of Africa, can save valuable steaming time using the Port of Walvis Bay for dry-docking. Many vessels have found shelter at the Syncrolift for their repairs.

The Syncrolift offers:

• A lifting capacity of up to 2,000 tonnes displacement.
• A beam of 14m in width.
• An overall length of 80m.

The Syncrolift has five (5) bays of which two (2) are 47m, one (1) is 104m and the rest 108m long. The facility has four (4) floating repair jetties of 105m each.

Repair bays occupancy increased by 12% and repair jetties occupancy increased by about 29% from April 2021 to January 2022, compared to the same period last year.

The graph below depicts the facility's occupancy rate on a month-on-month basis for both bays and jetties.

We offer electricity and freshwater for sanitation to the crew of the vessels. On average, the Syncrolift handles about 26 vessels per month. Namport manages and operates the docking and undocking of vessels to and from the lift, whereas private companies and individuals perform all the repair work.

It is estimated that 80% of the work generated at the Syncrolift is done by private companies – which shows the great entrepreneurial spinoff the Syncrolift has.

A Syncrolift is a system for lifting boats and ships out of the water for maintenance work or repair. The vessel is manoeuvered over a submerged cradle, which is then lifted by a set of synchronized hoists or winches

Namport records positive growth amidst difficult economic times

The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) continues to record positive growth in its business dealings amidst the current economic turmoil, which the world is still recovering from.

With only one month left of its financial year, the Ports Authority is pleased to announce an increase of 252 vessel (24%) calls during April 2021-January 2022, in comparison to the same period in 2020/2021’s financial year.

The increase in vessel calls was predominantly due to increased petroleum vessels, Namibian and foreign fishing vessels, foreign tugs, and research vessels. An increase of 16% is also noted in vessel gross tonnages.

The Ports Authority is equally proud to announce an increase in its Bulk and Break Bulk (BBB) volumes with an improvement of 173,587 tonnes (5%), year on year. The growth is mainly due to increased exports of 251,334 tonnes (20%) of commodities such as marble, ship spares, petroleum products, and bulk salt.

During the past two decades, Namport has recorded substantial growth, in both size and significance, from a minor national port to a key regional and international role player. 

With its recent substantial infrastructural investment in expanding the facilities and its capabilities at the Port of Walvis Bay, it is set to increase its relevance even more.  

The Namibian Ports Authority is well on the trajectory of realizing its vision of becoming the best performing seaports in Africa.

The Namibian Ports Authority welcomes the

MS Europa 2

• 03 Mar: MS EUROPA 2
• 24 Mar: CRYSTAL ENDEAVOR
• 16 Apr: QUEEN VICTORIA
• 21 Apr: ASTOR
• 24 May: MS INSIGNIA