Walvis Bay expected to grow hub status
A NEW service linking South America with West Africa has just been launched.
Maersk Sealand has introduced the new South America-West Africa (SAWA) service which provides the first direct route between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay - and Walvis Bay. Currently being phased in, it will become a fixed date fortnightly service from mid-June.
The service offers a 10-day transit time from Brazil to Walvis Bay. The vessel then sails up the West Coast of Africa, making several calls before proceeding back to South America.
“The first sailing arrived in Walvis Bay at the end of March and the next is expected here in early May,” says Maersk Namibia’s managing director Ralf HŠnel. “Eventually we hope that demand will allow us to increase it to a weekly service.”
It will also cater for cargo flows between South Africa and West Africa which will be transhipped through the port of Walvis Bay connecting with the existing weekly feeder service from/to Cape Town and Durban.
The service is expected to further develop the increasing market of mainly foodstuffs from South America to Namibia as well as transit cargo to southern Angola. This is currently offloaded at Walvis Bay and taken by road to Oshikango where it is stored for transportation into southern Angola.
“We expect to see a good increase in transhipment cargo arriving in Walvis Bay”, says HŠnel
The Maersk-owned S.A.T.I. container depot at the entrance to Walvis Bay harbour is proving an asset to the port and Namibian companies and is operating at high levels of capacity, he added.
