Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay is a port city on the Atlantic coast of Namibia, situated in the Erongo Region approximately 30 kilometres south of Swakopmund. With a population of about 85 000, it is Namibia's third-largest city and serves as the country's principal deep-water harbour and commercial gateway. The city's natural harbour, one of the few along the southern African Atlantic seaboard, has made it a strategic maritime hub for centuries. Walvis Bay handles the majority of Namibia's seaborne trade and is a critical logistics node for landlocked Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries including Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The port supports diverse cargo flows spanning containerised goods, bulk minerals, petroleum products and project cargo for the mining and energy sectors. Major infrastructure investments have expanded the port's capacity, including a new container terminal commissioned in 2019 that significantly increased throughput. The city's economy is anchored by port operations, fishing, fish processing and salt production, with the Walvis Bay Export Processing Zone attracting manufacturing and logistics investment. Walvis Bay was administered as an exclave of South Africa until 1994, when it was integrated into independent Namibia following protracted negotiations. The city's strategic location and expanding port facilities position it as a growing competitor to other regional ports such as Durban and Dar es Salaam for trans-shipment and hinterland trade.