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Peel Ports News

Port of Liverpool tools up for further growth

For Immediate Release - 02 December, 2008

A new ship-to-shore gantry crane has arrived at the Port of Liverpool for the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal where berthing for deepsea ships is to be increased by a third.

View larger imageNew Liebherr gantry crane arrives at the Port of Liverpool

Manufactured by Liebherr in Ireland and shipped across to Liverpool in knock down form, the components of the Panamax sized gantry crane were unloaded as three new straddle carriers went into service on the terminal.

The crane, the sixth purchased by the Port since the start of the new millennium, will have the capability to corner onto the Container Terminal's Berth S6, creating a fourth deepsea berth and increasing operational capacity and flexibility.

One of the Container Terminal's five established Liebherr gantries will also have access to Berth S6 after being adjusted to enable it to take the corner at the end of the main quay.

The new crane, which is 62 metres to the top of the apex, has an outreach of 38 metres and can work in wind speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, is expected to be built and operational early in the New Year.

The 923 tonnes of gantry crane components arrived at Liverpool from Fenit on the vessel Arklow Rainbow just as the new Noel straddle carriers ­ the second trio to be delivered to the Peel Ports operation this year ­ joined the Container Terminal fleet of 38. They too had arrived in knock down form, from Germany, to be constructed on site to replace three older machines.

All but four of the port's 38 straddle carriers, configured to lift one container over two, are Noel machines acquired since the year 2000.

View larger imageTrio of Noell straddle carriers on the quay at Seaforth

The Royal Seaforth Container Terminal is handling 700,000 teus a year and has been the subject of some £50 million worth of investment in the last eight years.

Said Container Terminal Manager Iain Robertson: "The latest investment in craneage and plant will equip the Royal Seaforth Terminal to accommodate growing volumes while ensuring the highest standards of efficiency that the port's customers have come to expect.

"By incorporating the former Irish Sea terminal at Berth S6 into the deepsea operation, and by equipping two of the six gantries to access the berth, we have been able to enhance efficiency in the terminal operation and add capacity to the container stack."

Coastal Container Line vessels, which operated from Berth S6 to Dublin and Belfast, will be accommodated on the terminal's four berths.

Peel Ports News