The Russian Far East Port of Vladivostok has taken delivery of two new ship-to-shore cranes and two RTGs - the first new container handling equipment to be installed at the port for 25 years.
Manufactured by ZPMC, the cranes were delivered fully erect earlier this month on the Zhenhua 1 and rolled onto the berth using special unloading rails. They will operate on berths No 15 and 16.
“The container handling equipment will enable us to diminish the time of loading and unloading operations for containerships and provides advantages for shipping lines,” said Andrey Tokarev, vice president of the Port Division of FESCO Transportation Group.
The purchase of the cranes forms part of the port’s development strategy until 2015 and follows an 18 month feasibility study and preparation works. Vladivostok is expected to handle 250,000 TEU this year, rising to 650,000 TEU by 2010.
“This event is extremely important and significant since it has marked the beginning of the widescale modernisation of the port in relation to the container business,” said Vyacheslav Pertsev, general director of Vladivostok Commercial Seaport Co. “We expect this equipment will be put into operation in 1.5 months and we will initiate the second phase of the new container terminal construction, berth No. 14, next year.”
