Third floating dock for Walvis port
Elgin Brown and Hamer (EBH) Namibia celebrates a watershed event in the company’s history with the inauguration of its third Panamax floating dock in Walvis Bay. From the left are Rob Deane, General Manager EBH SA; Rob King, Managing Director DCD Group; Graham Parnell, Financial Director, EBH SA; Ruusa Shipiki-Kapolo, Director EBH Namibia; Minister of Works and Transport, Hon. Erkki Nghimtina; Mayor of Walvis Bay Uilika Nambahu; Bisey Uirab, CEO of Namport and Hannes Uys, CEO EBH Namibia.
“By enhancing our docking capacity, the new floating dock will substantially increase our capacity to offer shipping clients a one-stop service of global standards. Moreover, the presence of the Panamax dock will enable us to further contribute to the growth of the local economy and establish Namibia as a ship repair destination of choice on the West African coast,” Uys said.
To date, EBH Namibia said it has contributed an estimated N$2 billion to the economy in terms of downstream revenue and job creation. The new floating dock, which arrived in the port on 05 July created an estimated 150 new jobs.
For Bisey Uirab, Chief Executive Officer of EBH Namibia’s majority shareholder Namport, the partnership between the government and private sector entities is a critical success factor in the growth and development of the economy of Namibia, and Africa as a whole.
“Our strategic partnership with EBH Namibia has helped give the local shipping industry its competitive edge. Ours is a strong working relationship driven by a common vision for the future of Walvis Bay as a leading ship repair hub in Africa. The Panamax floating dock is a powerful symbol of the progress we are making in ensuring that this vision becomes a reality,” Uirab stated.
While the Namibian Ports Authority, Namport, remains the majority shareholder of EBH Namibia, its other shareholder is the South-African based DCD Group, which acquired its shareholding in 2012.
Commissioning of the dock in September entailed the placement of the mooring blocks, dredging, and moving Namdock 1. This was followed by the remobilisation of all requisite equipment, such as cranes, pumps and valves and the offloading of the floating crane. The latest addition is known as Namdock 3.
