Global Ports has put into operation two brand-new high capacity Liebherr cranes at its Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company terminal in the port of Vostochny in the Russian Far East, the Group said in a statement.
They will join the terminal fleet of five STS units improving the speed and efficiency of vessel handling. The new equipment will allow of increasing the VSC quayside capacity by 200,000 TEU per annum.
The Liebherr LHM 550 units were manufactured in Germany to the order of Global Ports and delivered pre-assembled to VSC on board a ship. The cranes have a hoisting capacity of 144 tons and can operate in three modes: hook, spreader and grapple.
The maximum outreach of 54 meters allows of serving vessels with containers stacked in up to 16 rows. Similar equipment is already deployed at another Global Ports terminal, at PLP in St. Petersburg.
In Q1 2023, container throughput via VSC was up 17.3% year-on-year to 146,000 TEU. To cope with the growing traffic, Global Ports is investing into expanding the terminal capacity.
During 2023-2024, VSC is to put into operation 9 new RTG and RMG units made by ZPMС. This year, the terminal has already taken delivery of two reach stackers, and expects the delivery of two more high-capacity cranes.
Besides, during 2022-2023 Global Ports relocated from its Baltic terminals to the Far East some 30 units including RTGs, port trucks, and reach stackers.
In September 2022, the Group started an expansion project at VSC aimed at developing 47 ha of adjacent territories to build two container berths, container yards and new rails. The project is expected to bring the terminal capacity up to 1.7 mn TEU annually from the current 700,000 TEU.
Photo: courtesy of Global Ports