Virginia International Gateway (VIG) has received its first bundle of six Konecranes rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) following the arrival of the Happy Buccaneer heavy-load vessel.
The delivery marks the beginning of a US$ 320 million expansion for VIG, the largest privately-owned container terminal in the US.
On January 12, 2018, the Happy Buccaneer left Poland bound for The Port of Virginia and started a two-year cycle that will see the delivery of 86 new cranes to VIG.
The cranes will also be delivered to Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), the authority’s biggest terminal.
Today, from a port in Europe, the first shipment of a total of 86 Konecranes Automated RMG cranes is leaving for @PortofVirginia ������ #LiftingBusinesses pic.twitter.com/6w1Mjg32dh
— Konecranes Americas (@KonecranesUSA) January 12, 2018
The first bundle of six RMGs arrived safely this morning at Virginia International Gateway! We could not have done this without our partners at BigLift Shipping, @KonecranesUSA, and @TMEIC_Solutions #LiftingTogether #CatalystsForCommerce #Fortitude pic.twitter.com/qEQQUOCf0l
— The Port of Virginia (@PortofVirginia) February 2, 2018
Learn more about how automation is changing within the world of container shipping by reading the 'Automated Stacking Cranes In Port Terminals' technical paper by Paul Blaiklock, Marketing Manager, TMEIC Corporation, Virginia, US
In November 2016, the port finalized a $217 million contract with Konecranes to fill the RMG order.
The contract is the largest one-time order for automated stacking cranes (ASCs) in industry history.
From this point forward, the port will be receiving regular deliveries of these RMGs to VIG and then it will transition across the river to Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).
This first group of RMGs will go into service in April and the terminal’s container stack yard expansion will go into service at intervals through November.
View Konecranes' range of lifting solutions in PTI's Supplier Directory
In total, 26 new RMGs will be delivered to VIG and the remaining 60 will go to NIT.
The expansion at VIG will be complete by spring 2019.
In February 2017, construction on the $320 million VIG expansion got underway.
Port Technology's Container Terminal Automation Conference speakers will explore the best way to handle increasing container volumes on March 14 – 15, 2018 in London, UK
The work includes adding 13 new container stacks to the container stack yard – supported by 26 new RMGs – lengthening the berth, four new ship-to-shore container cranes, doubling the size of the rail operation and adding new lanes to the truck gate.
By 2020, we will have increased the container capacity at the Port of Virginia by 40%, or 1 million container units.
View TMEIC’s crane automation solutions in the PTI Supplier Directory
John F. Reinhart, CEO and Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority, said: “Today marks the beginning of the delivery cycle for the centrepieces of our expansion, these cranes and 80 more just like them.
“On a regular basis for the next two years we’ll be receiving these shipments and as we get them, we’ll put them into service as soon as they are on their rails and the testing is complete.
“This is the starting point where we can begin the process of recouping the $320 investment being made to expand capacity at VIG.
“As the cranes come online, we can begin capitalizing on the new capacity and efficiency we’re creating.”
Read more: The Port of Virginia has set a new annual record for container cargo volume having handled more than 2.84 million TEU — a 7% increase over last year’s total
