UK's Port of Felixstowe, a member of Hutchison Ports, has placed an order with China-based ZPMC to purchase two new gantry cranes, which will be used at the port's Berths 8 and 9.
The delivery of the newly ordered equipment is currently scheduled for February next year, and will bring the number of cranes situated at the port to 12.
The cranes will feature a 59.5m outreach from the quay in order to handle future generations vessels, with containers stowed up to 24-wide across the deck.
ZPMC’s Dutch subsidiary has also started a separate initiative to raise ten of the existing cranes at Felixstowe port's Trinity Terminal.
The work will help increase the crane’s operating height by 46.5m, and is expected to be completed by December 2018.
The increase in height will enable the cranes to handle vessels with containers stowed up to 11-high on deck without restriction and under all tidal conditions.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataHutchison Ports executive director Clemence Cheng said: “The Port of Felixstowe has facilities to handle vessels of all sizes.
“It is the clear port of choice for the largest megaships, and we had 137 calls by vessels of over 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) last year.
“Increasing the total number of cranes on the port and increasing the height of ten cranes on Trinity Terminal will give us greater flexibility to accommodate the largest categories of ship size.
"In total, we will have 22 cranes capable of handling the largest container vessels in service.”
Trinity Terminal currently features a stack capacity of 96,000TEU and is equipped with 23 ship-to-shore gantry cranes, including 16 ultra post-Panamax, nine post-Panamax and one Panamax.
Image: Gantry cranes at Port of Felixstowe, UK. Photo: courtesy of HPUK.