Hutchison Ports BEST terminal in Barcelona has increased its ability to handle the world’s largest container ships by increasing the height of three ship-to-shore gantry cranes at the semi-automated terminal.
The move reflects current market trends towards an ever increasing number of 18,000+ TEU vessels with greater stack heights for containers loaded above deck.
BEST is the only terminal in the Mediterranean with 11 cranes capable of handling the largest ships in operation.
Its operational capability has been further improved by increasing the height of three of the 11 cranes from 42 metres under spreader to 47 metres.
The upgraded cranes allow BEST to accommodate container ships loaded with containers stowed up to 11-high on deck.
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Commenting on the latest improvement, Guillermo Belcastro, BEST’s CEO, said: “BEST has facilities to handle vessels of all sizes.
“It is the clear port-of-choice for the largest megaships and last year we had 139 calls by vessels of over 13,000 TEU.
“Having 11 cranes on the port and increasing the height of 3 of these cranes will give us greater flexibility to accommodate the largest ship size categories.
“Thanks to this new investment BEST has strengthened its strategic position as the most efficient terminal in the Mediterranean, offering productivities by crane at over 40 mph in a sustained manner, which deliver significant savings to our customers.”
