Niël Terblanché
THE first-ever delivery of 8 000 metric tonnes of fuel oil at the fuel jetty in Walvis Bay has taken Walvis Bay one step closer to becoming an express logistics hub that would serve the entire Southern African Development Community.
The delivery of the Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil to the storage facility of the National Petroleum Corporation (Namcor) saw the state-owned enterprise entering into trade with neighbouring countries that use heavier fuel to power electricity generating infrastructure. Fuel oil is also used by the maritime industry.
The Maersk Tampa, a tanker vessel chartered by international oil trading and bunkering firm Monjasa, arrived in the Walvis Bay harbour shortly before the weekend and completed the delivery of the fuel oil.
The delivery will enable Namcor to support both maritime and inland energy demand with new and more environmentally friendly fuels.
The Maersk Tampa is the second vessel to dock at the fuel jetty in the northern part of the Walvis Bay harbour, which is also known as the North Port.
At the beginning of December last year, history was made when the first-ever tanker vessel docked at the North Port to do trial delivery of fuel products. The delivery was aimed at testing the operational readiness of the fuel jetty and the newly built National Oil Storage Facility (NOSF).
Once in full use, the NOSF will increase Namibia’s security of fuel supply from 10 to 40 days.
Long term plans include constructing a tank farm closer to the new oil jetty that will eventually also supply landlocked neighbours of Namibia.
The NOSF currently has a total capacity of 75 million litres and can store various grades of diesel, unleaded petrol, heavy fuel oil, and aviation fuel.
The oil jetty consists of two berths for tanker vessels and has been dredged to a depth of 16.5 metres below chart datum to accommodate larger vessels.
According to Namcor, the jetty can accommodate vessels with up to 60 000 tonnes of deadweight.
