Niël Terblanché
FEARS that the number of cases of COVID-19 in Walvis Bay might spike even higher, escalated sharply after news that an aircraft from Luanda landed at the Walvis Bay International Airport with more than 60 sailors aboard reached residents.
The group of sailors arrived in the harbour town to relieve a crew aboard a drill ship at anchorage in the bay off of Walvis Bay.
The entire town was once again abuzz with stories about the virus being imported from overseas after three new cases of COVID-19 were registered in Walvis Bay over the past week.
Officials from various organisations and institutions addressed the fears by saying that several ministries, offices and agencies were involved in the process of ensuring that the crew from a drill ship laying at anchorage in the bay off of Walvis Bay and that nothing underhanded occurred.
The Namibia Airports Company’s airport manager at the Walvis Bay airport, Chriselda George confirmed that the flight from Luanda landed on Tuesday afternoon where 61 passengers disembarked.
“The people were immediately taken to bus that transported them into town. The aircraft waited for the crew that was relieved to board again under strict supervision before departing again,” she said.
George said that the flight comprised of people from various nationalities and that the flight was done under the special provision made in the regulations of the State of Emergency for the transport and logistics sector.
A senior immigration official confirmed that various ministries were involved in ensuring that the crew of the drill ship was successfully and safely exchanged. The official gave the assurance that despite Namibia’s borders being closed for international travellers that special permission was obtained before the crew change could go ahead.
Nolito Marques, the spokesperson of the Manica Group under which the Ocean Liner Service ships agency resorts, said that the companies that owns the drill ships has strict policies with regards to the time crews spend at sea.
“Walvis Bay is a good place for vessels to lie at anchorage because of its proximity to the international airport. Ocean Liner Services was approached by the ship’s owners with the requests and it took about a week for all the boxes to be ticked with the various authorities and ministries before the flight could take place,” he said.
Marques said that the crew that disembarked from the aircraft were under constant surveillance from safety and security officials and officials from the health ministry. The bus they were transported in was fumigated and sanitised and wad driven from the airport straight to the harbour where the crew boarded a tender and were taken to the vessel.
The crew on board did the process in reverse and the flight left on Wednesday morning.
A similar situation developed when residents of Walvis Bay saw a giant passenger ship dock at the port at the end of May this year.
At the time seven Namibians and 182 Zimbabwean nationals who works for the cruise line disembarked from the vessel and were taken straight to Zimbabwe on a humanitarian flight.
