Port of Liverpool equipment investment at Seaforth reaches £6.5m in last quarter
For Immediate Release - 17 March, 2009
New Liebherr crane increases deep sea ships berthing.
View
larger imageNew Liebherr gantry crane operating at the Port
of Liverpool
A new £5.1m ship-to-shore Liebherr gantry crane has gone into operation at Port of Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container Terminal, increasing berthing for deep sea vessels by a third.
Following hard on the heels of the recent introduction of three new Noell straddle carriers from Germany at a cost of £1.4m, the new crane spend takes total investment in new equipment at Seaforth to £6.5m in the last quarter.
The state-of the-art crane, the sixth installed at Liverpool since the start of the new millennium, will have the capability to corner onto the terminal's Berth S6, creating a fourth deep sea berth and substantially increasing operational capacity and flexibility.
Vitally, it is able to fully load and unload Panamax-class cargo ships - vessels of up to 65,000 tonnes which are the maximum size able to pass through the Panama Canal, with rows up to 13 containers wide.
The new crane, which is 62 metres high and weighs 923 tonnes, has an outreach of 38 metres and can work in wind speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
In addition, one of the terminal's five established Liebherr cranes 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 Noell straddle carriers replace three older machines, and echo an ongoing process of equipment modernisation. All but four of the Port's 38 straddle carriers, which transport containers within the terminal, have now been acquired since the year 2000.
The Royal Seaforth Container Terminal is now handling 700,000 teus a year and has been the subject of a total of £50 million worth of investment in the last eight years.
Port of Liverpool terminal manager Iain Robertson said: "We believe the latest investment in craneage and plant is a statement of intent at this difficult economic time, and shows strong confidence in the terminal's future. It equips 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 will enhance efficiency in the terminal operation and add capacity to the container stack."
Press Enquiries:
- Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of Peel Ports
Contact Alex Hamilton 0141 333 9585 or 07812 138701 - Pictures available on request