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Four STS cranes heightened to handle Maersk Triple-E vessels
Four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at APM Terminals Algeciras in southern Spain are being heightened by Kalmar, part of Cargotec, to prepare for the arrival of Maersk’s Triple-E vessels, the world’s largest containerships.
The project, which began in June, is expected to be completed next month and will see the height of each crane, originally supplied by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd (ZPMC), increased by 5.8 metres.
“Like many ports, Port of Algeciras is seeing a significant increase in the size of ships and this means they need to find innovative solutions to increase their port side handling capacity,” said Eduardo Prat, vice president, Kalmar South EMEA.
“Increasing the STS crane height provides an expedient and cost-effective answer to boosting the crane capacity.”
The modifications will be undertaken by Kalmar’s specialist crane services team located in Algeciras, Spain, who have developed innovative systems to handle this highly technical procedure.
The specialist technique involves the Kalmar team using a jacking system which lifts the crane by the required height. A heightening construction is then inserted below the gross girders. In order to maintain the integrity and rigidity of the structure the sill beam is strengthened through bracers which are installed in the waterside portal frame.
