Port Technology International – The key resource for the ports and terminals industry

The Terminal Handling section provides a comprehensive posting of all the latest container handling, terminal logistics, and dry bulk, liquid bulk and specialist handling related news. Have news to submit? Email the Editor.

A third new Gottwald mobile harbour crane for Port of Paramaribo, Suriname Mar 11, 2010

Integra Port Services N.V. (IPS) has recently ordered another HMK 260 E from Gottwald Port Technology GmbH (Gottwald) for its operations within the public terminal in the river port of Paramaribo, Suriname. Read more...

Turkish port automates terminal operations with new APS technology Mar 11, 2010 Yilport Container Terminal and Port Operators Inc. is implementing APS container automation solutions at its facility in Gebze (near Istanbul), Turkey. Read more...

Japanese port to receive new drive-in electrification units Mar 10, 2010 Conductix-Wampfler AG, manufacturer of systems for the transmission of energy and data to mobile consumers, has been granted a larger order by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Japan. A total of 13 existing and four new rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) in Hakata Port will be equipped with the company's drive-in technology. Read more...

Cavotec MSL and Vahle Group enter into worldwide cooperation Mar 09, 2010 Cavotec MSL and Vahle Group are to collaborate on supplying new innovative systems to the ports and maritime industry. Read more...

New inspection program for bridge and gantry cranes Mar 08, 2010 Worksafe WA says is to begin an inspection program looking at safety standards of bridge and gantry cranes. Read more...

Port workers in UK on strike for the next 48 hours Mar 08, 2010 Delays are expected at UK ports for the next 48 hours, as port workers take part in a strike over redundancy pay. Read more...

Egypt signs concession for liquid bulk terminal Mar 04, 2010 Egypt has signed a concession for a new liquid bulk terminal at East Port Said. Read more...

Finnish dockworkers on strike Mar 04, 2010 Stevedores in Finland begun an indefinite strike this morning, after mediation talks broke down last night. Read more...

Chile's Valparaiso port reopens; San Antonio still closed Mar 03, 2010

Chile's busiest cargo port Valparaiso is operational again, following the major earthquake this weekend. Many other Chilean ports, however, were significatnly damaged by the quake. Read more...

New ultra-rugged handheld computer from Two Technologies Mar 02, 2010

Two Technologies Inc. has unveiled the Hydrus Luna RFID, an ultra-rugged and powerful hand held computer designed for long-term daily operation in harsh working conditions. Read more...

Vehnet launches AYDO - a free to use yard optimiser tool Feb 25, 2010 Software specialists Vehnet have launched AYDO (Advanced Yard Design Optimiser), a powerful new yard optimisation tool, available to download and use entirely free of charge. Read more...

New slide gate design for dry bulk handling from Lorenz Feb 24, 2010

Conveyor manufacturer Lorenz has announced the newly designed Lorenz Slide Gate (SG2). Read more...

Vietnam exports cranes to Indonesia Feb 24, 2010 Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam (Doosan Vina) exported a shipment of seven cranes to Indonesia on Monday. Read more...

First hydro static straddle carrier in Central America going to El Savador port Feb 22, 2010 The Port of Acajutla, El Salvador, will be the first container terminal in Central America using Terex Noell Hydro Static Straddle Carriers model NSC 634 H to improve operational efficiency. Read more...

Taim Weser to exhibit at BAUMA 2010 Feb 19, 2010

Taim Weser will be showcasing its range of bulk material handling systems and specialized cranes at BAUMA 2010. Read more...

Port Manatee invests in the future with new container crane and dredging project Feb 19, 2010

Port Manatee, Florida, is to invest $4 million in a new mobile harbour container crane and receive bids for a new dredging project, ready for the Panama Canal expansion. Read more...

Expansion of grain-handling facilities at Kalama port Feb 18, 2010

Kalama Export Co., a group of grain companies operating at the Port of Kalama, plans to expand an existing grain-handling facility at the port. Read more...

Shand & Jurs announce 96330 internal safety shutoff & operating valve Feb 18, 2010

Shand & Jurs today announced the launch of the new 96330 Internal Safety Shutoff & Operating Valve. Read more...

Vahle presents a fully automated RTG electrification system in Hong Kong Feb 17, 2010

Approximately 40 port specialists and potential customers traveled from all over the world to Hong Kong to witness the demonstration of Vahle's new fully automated RTG electrification system. Read more...

Qatargas delivers first LNG cargo to Fujian in China Feb 16, 2010 Qatargas delivered its first LNG cargo at the Fujian terminal in the People's Republic of China to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Read more...

Port of Aqaba receives two new gantry cranes Feb 15, 2010

Jordan’s main shipping hub for the Red Sea market, Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), has received two Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes to address market demand. Read more...

Crane design goes back to school Feb 12, 2010 Engineers at APM Terminals Algeciras and the University of Cadiz, Spain, have patented a new method of improving the lateral flexibility of RTG spreaders. Read more...

Foster Wheeler to manage new LNG terminal Feb 10, 2010 Foster Wheeler Global Engineering and Construction Group is to provide project management consultancy services to Singapore LNG for the development of a new LNG terminal. Read more...

Four months after opening, business is booming at the Port of Ngqura Feb 09, 2010

The new Ngqura container terminal is enjoying a busy start to 2010 as transhipment volumes from the Far East, South America and the rest of Africa began arriving at the facility for the first time last month. Read more...

Irish Continental Group orders new mobile harbour crane from Gottwald Feb 08, 2010

The Irish Continental Group (ICG) has ordered a new mobile harbour crane for their operation at the Port of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Read more...

China to build new LNG terminals and transport vessels Feb 08, 2010

China is to build new LNG terminals and carrier vessels to handle increased imports of LNG, in order to ease a domestic shortage of the fuel. Read more...

Yemen LNG soon to be transported to US Feb 04, 2010 The first shipment of Yemen Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is expected to be transported to the USA soon. Read more...

Shipments of LNG through Panama Canal may rise after expansion Feb 01, 2010 Shipments of liquefied natural gas through the Panama Canal may climb once expansion work on the waterway is completed, in 2014. Read more...

Port of St Petersburg orders new container handling equipment Jan 29, 2010

The Seaport of St Petersburg has ordered twelve new Kalmar terminal tractors and one Kalmar empty container handler, for its newly-built Container Terminal. Read more...

Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes delivered to Port of the Americas Jan 27, 2010

Two Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes were delivered to Port of the Americas last Friday, January 22nd. Read more...

Holcim Investments rejects offer to buy Jurong Cement Bulk Terminal Jan 19, 2010 YTL Cement Singapore's bid to purchase Jurong Cement Bulk Terminal at Singapore Port has been rejected by Holcim Investments Singapore (HIS), the majority shareholder in Jurong Cement Limited (JCL) which currently runs the cement bulk terminal. Read more...

Kiel nearly reaches 2008 handling mark Jan 19, 2010 The Port of Kiel has reported a booming 2009, in spite of the difficult economic climate. The Port handled 4.86 million tons of cargo in 2009, nearly reaching its 2008 handling figure of 4.91 million tons. Read more...

Novaflex launch a lightweight alternative to heavy rubber material handling hose Jan 19, 2010 A new hose specifically designed for material handling of abrasive media under full vacuum has been launched by Novoflex. Read more...

California's PierPass to Maintain Port Hours Jan 19, 2010 Terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have agreed there will be no immediate changes in the PierPass schedule for night and weekend hours, in a meeting last Friday. Read more...

Cargotec supply two Kalmar E One2 rubber tyred gantry cranes to DCT Gdansk Jan 18, 2010 DCT Gdansk has signed a contract with Cargotec to supply them with two Kalmar E-One2 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes. Read more...

Novel container tippers Jan 14, 2010 Elme of Sweden has developed a unique method of using a Reach Stacker to tip shipping containers to empty them. Read more...

Middle East Cranes 2010 speakers to include the “Big Three” Jan 11, 2010 Middle East Cranes 2010, the premier industry meeting for the crane and lifting-related industries in the Middle East, have secured Terex, Liebherr and Manitowoc as guest speakers at the event on 23-24 February in Dubai this year. Read more...

APM Terminals eyes container handling for Khalifa bin Salman Port Jan 08, 2010

APM Terminals is considering turning Khalifa bin Salman Port into a hub port to fill unused space and create additional revenue, it has been reported. Read more...

Largest U.S. ammunition port renews commitment to tideworks technology Jan 05, 2010 Tideworks Technology, a leading provider of full-service terminal management and planning software solutions, recently announced it has been awarded a maintenance and support contract from Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU). As part of the contract, Tideworks will migrate MOTSU’s terminal operating system from UNIX to Linux. Read more...

Cargotec launches a new streamlined Kalmar reachstacker Jan 04, 2010 Cargotec continues to develop its range of Kalmar reachstackers. The latest addition to the product range is the Kalmar DRF420-450L, which provides flexible container handling with increased customer value. This reachstacker model has performance and functions that are suitable for terminals with medium capacity and average operational requirements. Read more...

Featured articles

New developments in continuous ship unloading Mar 02, 2010

The Garant Feed Mills group, who since 1999, have had extensive experience working with a Flexiport unloader at their mill in Pöchlarn, Austria, on the Danube River, decided to install the same unloader type at another of their mills; in Aschach, Austria. The new Flexiport, which has been incorporated with the latest technical developments, was delivered to Aschach, also on the Danube, and installed at the beginning of 2005 (see Figure 1). Read more...

Achieving maximum productivity with older cranes Feb 26, 2010

As ports face the continued push to reduce port of call mooring time, an overall productivity improvement may be necessary to remain competitive in the container shipping industry. Read more...

The World’s first LNG onboard regasification port Feb 09, 2010

February 20th 2007 saw the first ever flows of natural gas from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship directly into the onshore natural gas grid – the culmination of a remarkable 12 month project to create the fastest and lowest cost LNG importation facility in the world. Read more...

Investing in the future: tackling the economic slowdown Jan 22, 2010

Effective storage tank management programme Dec 16, 2009

Companies that store bulk liquids in aboveground storage tanks face the challenge of developing and maintaining a tank management programme. An effective tank management programme is necessary to ensure that tanks operate safely and are inspected and maintained on a regular basis in a cost-effective manner. Read more...

Dry bulk terminal expansion or redesign? Dec 10, 2009

Due to the high demand for energy and mineral resources many dry bulk terminals around the world are expanding and seriously increasing their capacity. One approach to expansion can simply be copying the existing facilities until the required capacity is reached. In this way however the terminal does not only lose the opportunity to utilise the developments made over the last decades on terminal design, it will also end up with a costly operation. In addition it may not be able to reach the environmental restrictions imposed on terminal operations nearby environmentally sensitive areas. Read more...

Efficiency of multi-trailer systems for ship to stacks container transportation Dec 10, 2009

A multi-trailer system (MTS) allows transportation of a larger number of containers as opposed to the traditional single trailer systems. Therefore terminal and port operators consider the MTS as one of the options for increasing efficiency. Read more...

Prolonging the life of your crane and your bank account Dec 08, 2009

The speed and subsequent depth witnessed in the current economic slowdown has clearly presented the port industry with a wholly different range of decisions to ponder whilst formulating Capital expenditure budgets for 2010, and perhaps beyond. There has, as a result, been a marked shift from the purchase of new capital-intensive items such as cranes to meet growing volumes and replace aging equipment, by projects more akin with conserving cash. Read more...

Automation – a case for the future Nov 30, 2009

While the demand for designs of container terminals with part automation has increased significantly, some within the industry remain sceptical about the future of full automation. Despite the progress with system designs there is certainly a reluctance to commit to full automation and the use of automated Horizontal Transfer Equipment (HTE) – either AGVs or Automated Shuttle Carriers. Read more...

Fast tracking fuel supply in Chile Nov 24, 2009

Chile has a dependence on imported natural gas, which supplies a large proportion of their electricity generation. At present, gas imports are predominantly via pipeline from Argentina. However, in 2004 Argentina decided to reduce its gas exports to Chile, forcing a dependence on more expensive fuel oil to make up the difference whilst an increased hydroelectric capacity is developed. Read more...

New bulk loaders for Bayóvar (Peru) and Port of Marseille Nov 18, 2009

TAIM WESER, a Spanish company that specialises in latestgeneration bulk handling equipment and solutions, was recently awarded the contract to install conveyor belts and a ship loader for phosphate, with 3,500 t/h capacity, for the Bayóvar Port Terminal in Peru. Read more...

Port of Helsinki, Vuosaari Harbour Center: Automatic Gate System Nov 16, 2009

Visy Oy was selected as the gate technology provider for the Port of Helsinki, Vuosaari Harbour project – a massive undertaking which involved moving and combining two commercial port areas from the center of Helsinki to a new, single, location east of the city. Read more...

Is yard automation getting easier? Nov 13, 2009

ABB, formerly ASEA, has been actively supplying cranes and related equipment for over 100 years and has delivered electrical and automation equipment to more than 1,200 cranes of all types and in all parts of the world. ABB has and will supply automation and electrical equipment to a number of demanding automation projects, such as CTA, Hamburg, Euromax/Rotterdam, Hanjin and PNC in Korea and Kaohsiung and TPCT in Taiwan. Read more...

Container handling alternatives: the benefits of sidelifters Nov 03, 2009

There has been much discussion about the place in the industry for sidelifters. Why have sidelifters seen huge success and are in extensive use in some regions whilst still not even heard of elsewhere? Apart from the obvious benefits of the sidelifter service to shippers, packing containers safely at ground level, there are also many benefits to be had by container terminal operators. Traditional container handling equipment such as reach stackers, forklifts, straddle carriers, etc, can be expensive. There are purchase, setup, operational and maintenance costs. Read more...

Workarounds: just say no! Oct 30, 2009

Marine terminal operators have been searching for accurate Position Detection Systems (PDS) for about a decade and, while several types of solutions have been deployed (RFID/RTLS and DGPS at the top of the list), few, if any, have truly delivered the throughput gains, cost reductions, and process forensics operators expected. Read more...

Latest technology in cargo handling attachments Oct 28, 2009

Stevenel, based in Tampere, Finland is an engineering company who have, for the last 10 years, been designing and manufacturing attachments for general cargo for ports and industrial terminals. All of their products include CE-marking, thus, EU-directives are the basis for their engineering. Stevenel design and manufacture attachments solely for general cargo focussing on break bulk cargo. Read more...

New paradigm on the lashing process in container ports Oct 27, 2009

Currently, we are living in a rapidly changing and developing world in connection with port operations. In particular, port equipment is improving so rapidly, we need to redefine even the concept of container ports themselves. This technical progress is the primary concern of the container terminal operators. Read more...

Chemical storage tank systems: good practice guide - Operation, inspection and maintenance: Part 2 Oct 26, 2009 Cleaning of chemical storage systems can be a hazardous activity, and is important for the long life of a system. Some good practice guidance on cleaning of systems is given below: • Depending on the nature and scale of cleaning, specialist contractors may be required. This is particularly true for inside tanks which are classed as confined spaces, thus special training and apparatus are required. • Specialist cleaning machinery is available for certain cleaning tasks such as machines for lowering into tanks and wall climbers. Read more...

Port of Göteborg gets results with new staff and equipment planning system Oct 21, 2009

The complexities in balancing the productivity of a terminal operation, in relation to the level of service required by its customers and the cost efficiencies required to stay competitive, demand a high level of decision support. Borrowing some capability from the airline and rail planning businesses can turn out to be a strong move. Read more...

Calling for more stringent crane ‘tie-down’ procedures Oct 20, 2009

With damaging hurricanes in the Atlantic, typhoons and cyclones in the Pacific, monsoons in the Indian, and random windstorms occuring anywhere, port equipment, premises and liability insurer, TT Club is strongly recommending that terminal operators urgently review their terminal emergency plans for dealing with high winds and in particular crane tie-down procedures. Read more...

Clearer outlook with vapour recovery Oct 15, 2009

Increased measures to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions during the loading operations for crude oil, both offshore and onshore, are being required by the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) and international environmental agreements. Read more...

Continuous bulk material loading for all types of vessels Oct 13, 2009

Recently, bulk material handling company Bedeschi was asked by Coeclerici Logistics, Italy to install some of its coal industry applications, in particular those applicable to coal conveying systems, to a plant in India. Bedeschi has been commissioned to provide: Read more...

Optimising container terminals using simulation and emulation methodology: Part 2 Oct 12, 2009

A system working on the lowest level of detail does not consider the operation system the terminal uses. The capacity of a container terminal is limited by the capacity of the container stacking area and the quay. The latter is limited by its length and by the capacity of the ship-to-shore cranes available. The aim of such a system is to surmise the current point at which the terminal bottlenecks. Read more...

Investing in the future: tackling the economic slowdown Sep 04, 2009

The economic slowdown has undoubtedly offered a big challenge to the shipping industry, but those who have the foresight to plan ahead will be better prepared for when the industry does make a recovery. This year is a time for re-evaluating and transforming the industry in which we work. In my opinion, it is essential for companies to be forward thinking in order to survive this tough time and come out on the other side stronger. Read more...

Crane drive and control systems: Part 2 Sep 01, 2009

The container transpor tation industr y has witnessed a remarkable growth over the last decade. Control system wise, the programmable logic controller (PLC) was the preferred solution for motion control and general interlocking. As technology evolved over the years, so have the cranes, which are now bigger, faster and more complex electrically. Read more...

Common quay crane modifications Aug 26, 2009

Crane modifications are often required to service larger vessels, increase productivity, allow for a different terminal operation, or reduce maintenance costs. Modifying existing cranes is quicker and often a more economical alternative than purchasing new cranes. Modifications to the crane’s geometry allow an existing crane to service larger vessels. The most common geometry modifications are increasing the lift height or increasing the outreach, backreach, or both. Read more...

Offshore transshipment terminals: a valid alternative to port infrastructure Aug 20, 2009

In the present world economic scenario, characterised by high uncertainty and market instability, the port sector is holding back expansion plans. These projects provide for huge investments, which are necessary for upgrading and building the new facilities required to accommodate the ocean going vessels trading worldwide, whose cargo carrying capacity has augmented to minimise the ocean freight impact. Read more...

Optimising container terminals using simulation and emulation methodology: Part 1 Aug 19, 2009

Over the last 50 years simulation technology has found its way from technical applications to logistics. Due to the demands of high productivity and automation, as well as increasing vessel sizes, special computer systems for simulation and emulation have been developed for container terminals. Read more...

Effective operations in ports Aug 18, 2009

“Global logistics chain suffers port bottlenecks”, “Seaports struggling with increase in container vessel sizes”, “Citizen complaints over port neighbourhoods”...The above list of newspaper headlines could be prolonged endlessly, highlighting that obviously seaports have some technical and organisation problems to deal with. Read more...

Research and development of automatic bulk cargo equipment in modern ports: Part 2 Aug 11, 2009

Part 1 introduced bulk grab ship unloaders and automatic and fully automatic bulk loading bucket wheel stacker-reclaimers, jointly developed by Shanghai Port, Shanghai Port Machinery Plant, ABB (China) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Read more...

No growth? Squeeze the lemon! Aug 10, 2009

It appears that everything is coming to a standstill due to the economic panic all around. The reality of the here and now is a drop in container handling volume to levels of 2006/2007. Most terminals will end 2008 still at par with 2007 as the first nine months showed steady growth. Read more...

Euromax: a new standard in container handling Aug 07, 2009

The Euromax Terminal is situated at the north-westerly corner of the Maasvlakte, just around the corner from the entrance to the Rotterdam port. From the North Sea, container vessels can be moored at the new container terminal in no time at all and shipping traffic is not hampered by any restrictions whatsoever. Read more...

Flexible material handling solutions Jul 30, 2009

With two port sites in Terneuzen and Vlissingen near the Belgian border, the Dutch port operator Ovet B.V. is an important regional player in bulk materials handling. Two quays with a combined length of 2,400 metres are available, and four floating cranes and a mobile quay crane provide a total handling capacity of some 5,000 tonnes per hour. Read more...

Integrated check-in and security system goes over above ISPS code compliance Jul 29, 2009

The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code makes the adoption of security and monitoring systems mandatory for both accessing ports and transiting through boarding areas. Read more...

Modern interface between the TOS and the Crane Control System Jul 28, 2009

A modern container terminal needs an interface between the Terminal Operating System (TOS) and the crane control system onboard the cranes. If the terminal includes fully automatic cranes, it is an absolute necessity to be able to send work orders directly from the TOS to the cranes. Read more...

Solutions for efficient and environmentally friendly bulk handling Jun 02, 2009

Ishikawajima Transport Machinery (IUK) manufacture several types of equipment for bulk unloading, including both the Bucket Elevator type Continuous Ship Unloader (CSU) and the BridgeType Grab Bucket Unloader (GUL) which can be used for both coal and iron ore. IUK has recently supplied Unloaders to leading steel mill companies and electrical power companies. Read more...

Replacing and maintaining railcar dumpers May 27, 2009

Railcar Dumpers come in a var iety of designs including the ‘Turnover’, ‘C shaped’ or ‘Rotary dumper’ design. Each configuration has a variety of specification options such as end ring in or out, rack or chain drive, single, tandem, or triple barrel or even unit train or random train. Even the way the car is clamped down during rotation can be chosen, for example, you could use mechanical clamps or hydraulic clamps. Read more...

Crane orders for all working conditions May 26, 2009

Kaliningrad based crane manufacturers Baltkran are supplying a double girder container crane with a capacity of 35t to an intermodal terminal in Kholmsk on Sakhalin Island. The span of the crane is 25m; stacking height is 2+1. The allelectric telescopic slewing spreader with its own slewing device will allow an accurate positioning and stacking of 20, 30, 40 and 45ft containers without changing the spreader, resulting in significant cost savings and reducing time for loading/discharging trains and trucks. Read more...

Research and development of automatic bulk cargo equipment in modern ports: Part 1 May 19, 2009

This paper describes research and development into automatic grab ship unloaders, automatic loading machines, and automatic bucket stackers and reclaimers for bulk cargo in the Port of Shanghai, which have been integrated with a multitude of advanced technologies, such as long-range detection, computer networks, automatic control, and intelligent decision-making etc. Read more...

Wireless technologies for intermodal operations: the future is converging May 18, 2009 Today’s port environment has changed significantly in the last three decades since LXE started servicing ports in 1980. It is no longer a matter of merely moving containers off ships and onto another mode of transportation. Today’s supply networks are highly complex. Retailers and consignees of freight are looking at them as complete networks where the intervening lengths may be changed to serve their particular cost and delivery needs. The main challenges facing ports worldwide are more cargo, ships, agility, security and visibility, and less space, time, energy, environmental impact and complexity. Read more...