Namibia hits Panamax milestone

The arrival of Bold Voyager, which has a lifting capacity of 15,000 tonnes, to ‘Namdock 3’ signals a new era in ship repair for EBH and its capacity to service the international Panamax vessel market, which includes container/general cargo ships and tankers.

“As the first Panamax-size vessel to be lifted and docked in Namibia, at the only privately-owned floating dock of its size in western Africa, this was a truly ‘milestone moment’ and an occasion to go down in history,” said Hannes Uys, CEO of EBH Namibia.

With this, EBH says it hopes to become the preferred shipyard in Africa.

“This successful docking and completed project work amply demonstrate our capacity to handle a vessel of this size. Namdock 3 has opened up a whole new segment of the market for EBH Namibia, and we believe the success of this project will give our other international clients the confidence that our infrastructure and people are more than capable of handling such vessels,” added Mr Uys.

Bold Voyager, which operates in West Africa between South Africa, Namibia and Nigeria, is the largest to be lifted by EBH Namibia, and required methodical planning prior to its arrival. Work carried out included painting and blasting.

EBH says several enquiries have been made from similar calibre vessels and the company is now gearing up for a busy period as ‘Namdock 3’ comes into its own.

“We believe our capacity to service the Panamax-size vessel market gives us a critical competitive advantage, allowing us to service a broader sector of the market,” concluded Mr Uys.