A shipment of 8 500 metric tons of break-bulk copper cathodes was exported through the port of Walvis Bay recently, destined for the United States. According to the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) this is the second of its kind export through Walvis Bay.
The bulk carrier vessel Unisea loaded the copper cathode. Break-bulk cargo shipments are on the increase as there is a global shortage of cargo containers. The copper cathodes were produced at the Mopani Copper Mine in Zambia and transported to Walvis Bay by road.
“Due to the ongoing global shortage in containers, it has become a phenomenon for shippers to opt for their consignments to be carried by bulk vessels to ensure continuity of operations and less dependency on containers”, Namport explained in a statement.
With Namibia’s ports being strategically located along the West Coast of Africa, and supplemented by the country’s excellent road infrastructure which is rated number one in Africa, the country continues to play a leading role in the facilitation of trade via our transport corridors serving hinterland markets within SADC, further reads the statement.
Namibia has four transport corridors that connects it to other SADC countries namely; Trans Kunene connecting Namibia to Angola, the Walvis Bay Ndola Lubumbashi Development Corridor connecting to Zambia and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Trans Kalahari Corridor connecting Namibia to Botswana and lastly the Trans-Oranje Corridor responsible for connecting Namibia to the Republic of South Africa.
The Namibian ports are not only strategically located, but the Ports Authority has furthered this advantage by investing into state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment in order to provide a superior customer service experience to everyone making use of its facilities at both ports.