Elgin Brown and Hamer (EBH) Namibia recently celebrated the inauguration of its third Panamax floating dock.
The 195-metre floating dock, which represents the largest infrastructural investment that EBH Namibia has made to date, will increase the company's dry docking capacity by 15,000 tonnes, a development which also heralds significant positive implications for the future of Namibia's economy.
"The presence of the Panamax dock will enable us to further contribute to the growth of the local economy and establish Namibia as a ship repair destination of choice on the West African coast," said EBH Namibia CEO Hannes Uys.
To date, EBH Namibia has contributed an estimated NUS$2 billion (US$200 million) to the economy of Namibia in terms of downstream revenue and job creation. The new floating dock, which arrived in the port of Walvis Bay, will create an estimated 150 new job opportunities.
Now known as 'Namdock 3', the dock was moved from Australia to Batam, Indonesia, where it underwent extensive upgrading before departing for Namibian shores in April 2013.
Commissioning of the dock in September entailed the placement of the mooring blocks, dredging, and moving of 'Namdock 1'.
This was followed by the remobilisation of all requisite equipment, such as cranes, pumps and valves and the offloading of the floating crane.