Historic arrival of Ship to Shore cranes

Namibia’s first ship-to-shore cranes arrived this morning and was welcomed with huge fanfare by the port. The heavy load vessel, Zhen Hua 8 delivered the cranes and was greeted with a water salute by a Namport tug spraying water in large bows from its fire fighting hoses. The occasion was marked with the presence of several high level dignitaries and guests, including the Chinese Ambassador, Zhang Yiming and Namibian Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, James Sankwasa.

The four cranes were shipped from Shanghai and were built by the China Harbour and Engineering Company (CHEC), as part of the Walvis Bay port’s N$4,2 billion turnkey container terminal project. The offloading and installation of the cranes on the quay will take a few weeks. The Woker Freight Services, Ocean Liner Services and Walvis Bay Stevedoring teams all played a role in providing the customs clearing, ships agency and stevedoring services to the vessel and the cargo.

Well done to WFS, OLS, and WBS!

More photos...