Automation at the Port of Walvis Bay on track

The Namibian Ports Authority is in the process of rolling out a General Cargo Terminal Operating System (GCTOS) at the Port of Walvis Bay. On Friday, 26 March 2021, Namport initiated external stakeholder engagements, informing clients and stakeholders alike about the exciting change from manual systems to semi-automation that has begun.

The LogStar Terminal Operating System, a state-of-the-art solution platform, will be implemented, as part of the automation process, in four (4) phases.
The modules to be introduced in phases are as follows:
Berthplanning
RORO & Cargo vessels (includes Quay-side, yard and gate ops)
Bulk & General Cargo vessels
Container vessels and Syncrolift
Mr Richard Mutonga Ibwima, Manager: Terminals, emphasised that this system will increase efficiency in managing cargo operations at the Multi-purpose terminal, general cargo berths 1 – 8, digitalizing and streamlining the current manual processes and paperwork.
He added that Namport will also be introducing a CCTV system for the New Container Terminal section. “This is a first for us, it will help us in terms of addressing various situational operational management issues that we cannot see at the moment from our control and command centre and as well aiding on the spot decision making and solutions.”
Ibwima further explained that “a small part in terms of terminal automation will be the introduction of an access control system for our gates, introducing various ways of managing our new container terminal gates, this will further speed-up time spent by our clients at these gates making sure we provide optimal yard turn-around time.”
This is indeed an exciting time as Namport works with stakeholders in addressing and fighting the current COVID-19 pandemic to better performance and turnaround time for clients and stakeholders at the Ports.
This is a milestone for Namport towards reaching automation and our vision to be the best performing seaports in Africa.