Peel Ports has invested in two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes for the Port of Liverpool to further support growth from Intra-European feeder networks and specialist carrier Atlantic Container Line (ACL).
The new cranes will increase overall berth productivity and increase height and reach capabilities at the Port’s Terminal 1.
Their new design utilises high tensile steel and lattice boom and beam construction, designed and built by Liebherr Container Cranes Limited, and will allow lighter crane operations with reduced wheel loads, a key consideration due to the narrow span and quay structure at the Port.
David Huck, Managing Director at Peel Ports said, “Our investment in the very latest Panamax container cranes at Terminal 1 demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing in our customers and further compliments our Irish Sea hub proposition connecting the world to Liverpool and by far the largest consuming and exporting region of the UK
“The new cranes will significantly enhance the Port of Liverpool’s capabilities for ACL, as well as other current and future users of Terminal 1. For us, innovation and improvement are at the heart of our Port-centric solutions, and we’re excited to get the new cranes in place and commissioned for the start of 2022.”
Andy Abbott, CEO of ACL also commented, “Liverpool has been Atlantic Container Line’s home port in the UK for 54 years. The port has seen four generations of ships make calls twice a week, as technology changed, and transatlantic cargo volumes grew. ACL’s current generation of Container/RORO vessel is twice as large as its predecessor but uses the same footprint in order to fit through the lock at Royal Seaforth.
“To carry all the extra cargo, the new ships are considerably higher, so high, state-of-the-art gantry cranes are essential in order to productively handle them.
“Peel Ports answered the challenge with brand-new hardware, enabling them to handle the new ACL vessels more quicky and more efficiently than ever before.
“We congratulate Peel Ports for this fantastic accomplishment. ACL looks forward with confidence to a bright future at the Port of Liverpool.”