The €8M contract includes waterside boom lengthening and height increase. It was awarded to Kalmar Spain, Kalmar’s European centre of excellence for crane upgrades. The cranes are being modified at the port’s Platform 23 quay. Work on the boom of the first one has been completed, and the height increase is underway. The booms will be increased by 5.5m to 60.5m (20-wide deck stow), and the height increase covers an extra three tiers, up by 9m to 44m, making them the tallest STS cranes in Israel.

On completion of the work, both cranes will be located at the centre of Platform 23, to optimise their ability to work bigger ships. They will be able to work 14,000 TEU ships stacking ninehigh on deck, stated Ashdod Port Company. CEO Isaac Blumenthal remarked: “These investments are required for the arrival of mega ships and international lines, to meet the needs of Israeli importers and exporters who do business with the Far East.”

In the past, Ashdod has been a terror target, and security checks have meant long truck delays at the port gates that have frustrated Israeli shippers and importers. Speaking recently at the annual convention of the Manufacturers Association of Israel in Tel Aviv, Blumenthal said that these were a thing of the past, as the gates have been automated, and truck drivers now carry out the clearance previously undertaken by gate clerks, thus shortening the waiting times. In addition, the port has introduced a truck appointment scheduling system.

Towards the end of last year, the port acquired an advanced crane simulator for INS5M (US$1.4M), to help improve operator performance. “We are working on the planning for the  construction of a technological ‘hothouse’ in the port, so that we can be pioneers in the port technology field, and not have to acquire this knowledge and qualities from our competitors at enormous expense,” Blumenthal told the convention.

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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the May 2018 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 19. To access this issue download the PDF here.