Tanjung Priok super port - WorldCargo News Online

WorldCargo 

MAY 2013 

news 

Tanjung Priok super port 

Netherlands-based engineering 

and consultancy Group Royal 

HaskoningDHV (RHDHV) has 

been appointed lead consultant for 

the construction of an ambitious 

expansion project, estimated at 

US$2.47B, for Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), 

Indonesia’s leading port. 

Dubbed North Kalibaru Terminal 

Development Project, the new 

400-ha, man-made island is scheduled 

to accommodate 13M TEU 

of container handling capacity, a 

liquid bulk berth and tank farm. 

RHDHV was awarded the supervision 

contract by state-owned 

Indonesian Port Corporation II 

(Pelindo II), which is the sole 

project developer. On completion 

in 2023, North Kalibaru will have 

increased Tanjung Priok’s container 

capacity by more than 

threefold. The port handled 6.1M 

TEU in 2012 and the forecast for 

this year is around the 7M TEU 

mark, although nominal installed 

capacity today is “only” 5M TEU. 

The project is a key part of the 

national “Master Plan for the Acceleration 

and Expansion of Indonesian 

Economic Development.” 

Indonesia’s president Susilo 

Bambang Yudhoyono broke 

ground on the project in March 

and the first parcel of the first 

phase is scheduled to come on 

stream during 2014. The construction, 

financing and operation tender 

for this 1.5M TEU/year concession 

was won in March by Japan’s 

Mitsui & Co Ltd, outbidding 

APMT and ICTSI. Pelindo II 

plans to open tenders for the second 

and third 1.5M TEU terminals 

this November. The 4.5M 

TEU/year first phase is planned 

for completion in 2018. 

RHDHV will supervise major 

construction works, including 

land reclamation, construction of 

breakwaters, quay walls and shore 

protection and reinforcement, plus 

the bridge linking Kalibaru with 

the mainland. The Dutch group 

will also take charge of finishing 

the first container terminal’s onshore 

infrastructure to allow 

Mitsui to move in quickly. 

The Mitsui terminal has to be 

operational before the land to be 

reclaimed stabilises naturally, said 

Herman Pals, RHDHV’s project 

director in Jakarta. The seabed is 

of poor quality, so it would take 

time for the landfill to be permanently 

settled to allow infrastruc- 

ECT opts for truck engine AGV 

As previously reported, last year 

ECT Rotterdam placed an order 

with Dutch firm VDL for 22 hybrid 

AGVs, following acceptance 

of the prototype machine earlier 

in the year. The first two production 

run AGVs will be delivered 

Prototype VDL hybrid drive AGV at 

ECT, Rotterdam. The production run 

machines will be fitted with a 150 

kW Euro V road truck engine 

ture construction without the risk 

of subsidence. To overcome this, 

the initial container terminal will 

be built with a suspended deck, 

with the piles reaching down to 

firm ground. The rest of Kalibaru 

Island will be built in the traditional 

land reclamation way, allowing 

for settlement on landfill. 

Soil dredged for the new basin 

and the access channel will be the 

main feedstock for the landfill. At 

peak around 50 consultants and 

supervisors will be on site, of which 

around 20 will be RHDHV staff 

and the remainder consultants/supervisors 

from local sub-consultants 

PT Atrya Swascipta Rekayasa. 

Down the track, the award of 

the first construction, management 

and operating concession to 

Mitsui may create opportunities 

for Mitsui Zosen to provide Paceco 

cranes, while the engineering and 

port operations know-how of 

Portek may also be tapped. 

this October and, following their 

extensive operational testing, the 

third will be delivered in January 

2014. An AGV will then be delivered 

every seven working days 

until delivery is completed in July. 

The order from ECT included 

options for a further 62 AGVs. 

Seven companies within the 

VDL Group worked on the design 

and development of the hybrid 

AGV. Siemens was the partner 

for the hybrid power management 

(using a similar concept to 

its ECO-RTG hybrid drive) and 

FROG was the partner for the 

navigation and steering. 

In line with VDL’s drive towards 

optimisation, ECT has 

opted to fit the production series 

with a 150 kW Euro V road truck 

engine, similar to the engine fitted 

to VDL passenger buses, rather 

than the 257 kW Stage IIIb engine 

fitted to the prototype AGV. 

This means that diesel fuel 

consumption will be lower than 

the value of 4.8 litres/hour quoted 

by VDL for the prototype, but by 

the same token the demands 

placed on the ultracaps (recharged 

automatically during travel) to 

generate extra power when necessary, 

particularly when starting 

up long travel, have become more 

important. In the prototype the 

engine running hours are quoted 

as 55% of operational hours and 

the ultracap as 45%. 

The prototype hybrid AGV 

already uses significantly less diesel 

fuel than ECT’s first generation 

of diesel-hydraulic AGVs and 

less fuel than the later, more fuelefficient 

diesel-electric AGVs. 

The extra fuel savings with the 

150 kW engine and the ratio of 

the running hours of the engine 

and energy store cannot yet be 

stated, says VDL, as long-term 

measurements are ongoing. However, 

AGV performance is unaffected 

by fitting the smaller engine, 

and top speed of 6 m/sec and 

acceleration of 0.5 m/sec 2 are 

unchanged. The smaller engine 

saves around 1t in tare weight and 

servicing is easier as there is more 

space to access filters, belts, etc. 

The 150 kW engine is less expensive 

to buy and as the 275 kW 

engine never really gets to its operational 

rpm in this application, 

there can be soot build-up, affecting 

cylinders and pistons. The 150 

kW engine runs at normal operational 

rpm, so exhaust temperatures 

are higher and emissions are fewer. 

Paceco books Tilbury 

The Port of Tilbury, part of Forth 

Ports plc, has awarded a contract 

for two panamax Paceco Portainer 

cranes to Paceco España SA. The 

40t SWL cranes will operate at the 

short sea terminal and will bring 

the number of Paceco Portainers 

at Tilbury to 10, of which six are 

from Paceco España. 

This includes four postpanamax 

cranes - two built in 2001 

and two in 2004. The new 13-wide 

Portainers are expected to be in operation 

in April/ May 2014. 

The picture (right) shows a 

similar Portainer supplied last year 

to IMT in Antwerp. This crane, 

Paceco España’s most recent delivery 

outside the Iberian peninsula, 

is also panamax, but is slightly 

bigger than the cranes for Tilbury. 

Forth Ports has also taken delivery 

of 14 new 4-high, 50t SWL 

diesel-electric drive Kalmar straddle 

carriers in Tilbury. As previously 

reported, these model ESC 

450W straddle carriers are 

equipped with Kalmar’s standard 

W-type front cabin and they interface 

directly with the TOS. The 

investment cost is supported by an 

EU Marco Polo short sea “Motorways 

of the Sea” grant awarded 

jointly to the ports of Tilbury and 

Bilbao in an amount of €7.299M 

(£5.75M). 

The machines were fabricated 

at Cargotec’s MAUT assembly 

plant in Poland and shipped to 

Tilbury in erect mode. Forth Ports’ 

NEWS 

Freeport’s hybrid straddles 2 

Special mobiles for Napier 4 

ZPMC going direct 7 

Delay for Lekki 10 

Turf dispute in Táranto 11 

Queensland ports for sale 13 

LoadPlate in Raahe 14 

Djibouti master plan 18 

ICT FOCUS 

Symeo collision avoidance 27 

WiMESH in Le Havre 29 

Janus Gate in Antwerp 33 

Malta takes Telematics 34 

SPARCS N4 for Auckland 35 

IDENTEC reefer monitoring 36 

PORT DEVELOPMENT 

Holland/Belgium survey 39 

Black Sea/Turkey report 45 

Singapore’s prize award 49 

Singapore in pole position 50 

IN THIS ISSUE 

The Tilbury Portainers will be similar, 

albeit slightly smaller, to the one 

supplied to IMT Antwerp last year 

investment programme for the 

new cranes, straddle carriers and 

new IT systems at Tilbury London 

Container Terminal comes to 

around £20M in total. 

British transport minister 

Stephen Hammond, MP has “cut 

the turf ” to mark the start of construction 

of the 70-acre London 

Distribution Park (LDP) at 

Tilbury. As previously reported, 

LDP is a joint venture of Forth 

Ports and Roxhill Developments 

and is aimed at fostering 

portcentric logistics activities. It 

will offer almost 1M ft 2 of new 

distribution facilities, in modules 

of 50,000 ft 2 upwards.. 

Eyes on the prize! This is a screen shot from the US$1M winning entry, 

announced during Singapore Maritime Week in April, in MPA Singapore’s 

and Singapore Maritime Institute’s “Next Generation Container Port 

Challenge.” There is a full report on page 49 

Brazil congestion worsens 51 

Rijeka gears up 52 

Wilhelmshaven pressure 55 

Global stevedores review 59 

INTERMODAL 

Calais as UK railhead 63 

Hupac stresses P400 65 

CARGO HANDLING 

Playing the power game 67 

Braking cranes on the run 71 

New crane brakes 72 

3D technology from Lase 73 

Orlaco in Antwerp 74 

Step up to the next tier 77 

A way back in for crossply 79 

Container weighing options 81 

INSURANCE 

Losses and leviathans 82 

New container cover 83 

West African piracy 83

CARGO HANDLING NEWS 

Hybrid straddles for Freeport 

Terex Port Solutions (TPS) has 

reported a recent order for 10 

Terex NSC 634 E ECO hybrid 

straddle carriers from Freeport 

Container Port (FCP), the 

Hutchison Port Holdings affiliate 

in the Bahamas, with an option 

to purchase an additional 12 machines. 

The first machines, which 

have a top unladen travel speed of 

30 kph, stack 1 over 2 and have 

an SWL of 60t under twin 20, 

are slated for delivery during May. 

This is believed to be the biggest 

single order for Noell hybrid 

drive straddle carriers, following 

earlier deliveries to customers in 

Germany and in Antwerp. The 

drive comprises a diesel-powered 

generator and an array of ultracapacitors, 

which provide transient 

storage and recycling of energy recovered 

during braking and lowering. 

This results in significantly 

reduced fuel consumption and exhaust 

emissions compared to a traditional 

drive system. Load surges 

on the primary energy source, the 

diesel-generator set, are lower, allowing 

it to run in a smoother, 

energy-efficient manner. 

According to TPS, operators 

are reporting up to 20% less 

fuel consumed (and hence lower 

emissions) with Terex straddle 

carriers fitted with hybrid drives 

compared to Terex’s conventional 

diesel-electric drives, depending 

on terminal and operating conditions. 

They also reported reduced 

noise emissions. 

“For some years, our hybrid 

straddle carriers have proven their 

worth in everyday cargo handling,” 

stated Guido Luini, managing 

director of TPS, Würzburg 

factory. “The fact that we have received 

this order from Freeport for 

a fleet of machines equipped with 

this technology is confirmation of 

the acceptance for it and, at the 

same time, of our leading position 

in this segment of the market.” 

Freeport is an existing customer 

for Noell straddle carriers, with 

a fleet of 25 diesel-hydraulic NSC 

644 H machines, so it is making 

a fuel-saving “jump” by opting 

for hybrids, as diesel-electric 

drives are more fuel-efficient than 

Anzeige_124x175_Ardelt_neu3_06_WorldCargoNews 22.05.13 08:29 Seite 1 

Noell hybrid straddle carriers in Freeport, 

Bahamas 

diesel-hydraulic drives in straddle 

carrier applications. 

According to TPS, as FCP 

gradually expands its operations, 

it is placing particular emphasis 

on the cost-effectiveness and 

environmentally compatible operation 

of the handling machines 

used. In view of this approach, it 

was, said Luini, logical that the 

customer ordered Terex straddle 

carriers with hybrid drives. 

TUKAN K 

2,400 TONNES PER HOUR WITH ADVANCED ENERGY 

RECUPERATION AND BOOM EQUALIZER SAVING UP TO 70 % - 

COMPARED TO MOBILE HARBOUR CRANES (MHC) 

ARDELT 

XL EFFICIENCY 

ARDELT IS A MEMBER OF KRANUNION. 

TUKAN MHC 

(ENERGY CONSUMPTION) 

Portek to lease new cranes 

Singapore-based Portek Group, 

part of Mitsui & Co, is preparing 

to step up its activities in the crane 

leasing market by offering long 

term lease arrangements for new 

STS and RTG cranes. Portek has 

long offered leases on used, refurbished 

cranes, but it is now looking 

to broaden its leasing activity 

to include new STS and yard crane 

fleets large enough to operate a 

terminal handling over 1M TEU. 

Leasing new equipment has 

been done before, but Portek 

CEO Takao Omori said most attempts 

by leasing companies have 

failed because leasing new cranes 

will not work as a purely financial 

arrangement. Leasing companies 

have the commercial strength to 

buy new cranes, but they have no 

expertise in crane operating and 

maintenance, no way to protect 

the asset and are not able to guarantee 

equipment availability. 

Portek’s executive director 

and CEO of Portek Systems & 

Equipment, Tok Soon Chong, 

believes leasing a large fleet of 

brand new cranes can be a viable 

option if the lease terms combine 

financial and engineering/operational 

conditions. What terminals 

want, he said, is guaranteed crane 

uptime over an extended period, 

up to 20 years. Removing 

the uncertainty over the cost of 

this is a very attractive proposition 

as it takes some of the risk 

out of concession arrangements. 

Now that it is owned by Mitsui 

& Co, Portek has the financial 

backing to finance big crane orders. 

It is working on an arrangement 

for up to seven STS cranes 

and a commensurate number of 

RTGs. Portek would design and 

specify the cranes, supervise fabrication 

and installation, and service 

them for 20 years. 

Having control of the crane 

design, specification and construction 

enables Portek to lease new 

New rope rocker damper 

Germany’s Römer Fördertechnik 

GmbH has launched a new rope 

rocker device to provide protection 

against a falling load in the 

case of a wire rope failure. The 

rope rocker is designed for hoists 

with a minimum of two load 

bearing ropes. In the case of a failure 

of one rope, “the second rope 

must bear the entire load while 

being stressed by a load shifting 

pulse” said Römer. 

The rope rocker acts to reduce 

the effect of the load being suddenly 

shifted to one rope. “Rope 

rocker dampers will be mounted 

parallel to both ropes,” stated the 

company. “These dampers are 

linked with the rope sweep and the 

supporting structure by joints. The 

Four Konecranes superpost- 

Panamax STS cranes have been 

shipped semi-erect on board a 

DockWise teal class ship to the 

Port of Savannah, operated by the 

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA). 

The 65 LT SWL (twin 20 mode)- 

61m outreach (22-wide deck 

coverage) cranes are part of an 

order that Konecranes received 

in 2011. In addition to the four 

STS cranes, the order included 

20 Konecranes RTGs that have 

already been delivered to the customer. 

The design of the STS cranes 

is identical to the STS cranes 

that Konecranes delivered to the 

GPA a few years ago. According 

to Konecranes, these have turned 

out to be among the most productive 

cranes in the US. The Port 

of Savannah currently operates 

116 Konecranes RTGs and 23 

Konecranes STS cranes. 

Separately, Konecranes has reported 

a recent order for four 

more RTGs from an existing 

customer in Valencia, TCV Stevedoring 

Company SA, which is 

part of Grup TCB. This will be 

Konecranes’ fifth RTG delivery 

to TCV and will bring its RTG 

complement to 23 machines. 

“Our cooperation with TCV 

started in 2004 when the first 

Konecranes RTGs were ordered 

and delivered,” said Kim Salvén, 

Konecranes’ sales director, Europe. 

equipment with confidence it can 

manage the life cycle costs and 

guarantee availability. Portek has 

experience specifying and supervising 

crane fabrication and it has 

a lease fleet of around 10 cranes in 

service at any time, all of which are 

used cranes on shorter duration 

leases. It also has several crane maintenance 

contracts in Indonesia. 

Leasing STS cranes with 

guaranteed uptime begs the 

question whether Portek might 

supply labour to operate the 

cranes as well. Omori said Portek 

is not looking, at least initially, at 

this type of arrangement but it 

could be possible at some stage. 

Contracting a certain level of productivity, 

however, is likely to be 

too problematic as crane productivity 

depends on more than just 

the cranes and their operators. 

integrated automatic switching 

valve guarantees fast apply times 

and very low reset forces during 

normal operation. In case of a rope 

failure the rope rocker dampers 

damp immediately so that a freefall 

of the load can be avoided.” 

Schematic of new rope rocker 

En route to Savannah 

Delivery will take place in the 

fourth quarter of 2013. 

The 16-wheel RTGs are 

equipped with Konecranes’ Active 

Load Control technology, 

diesel fuel saver technology, autosteering 

and crane management 

system. They have an SWL of 50t 

and stack 1over 5 high and 6 + 

1 wide. 

At the time of writing, another 

five Konecranes 16-wheeler, 

40t SWL, 7 + 1/1 over 5 RTGs 

are being erected at the Meridian 

Port Services (MPS) container 

terminal in Tema, Ghana. 

This follows the delivery of four 

fully-erect Konecranes RTGs to 

MPS Tema in March this year. 

All nine machines are equipped 

with Konecranes “Smarter Cabin,” 

autosteering and Diesel Fuel 

Saver. The container positioning 

systems are connected to the TOS 

and the RTGs are also equipped 

with remote access technology 

for ready remote diagnosis by 

Konecranes’ engineers. 

As previously reported, the Port 

of Houston Authority (PHA) recently 

placed an order worth almost 

US$50M with Konecranes 

for four STS cranes for Barbours 

Cut Container Terminal. In addition, 

PHA has varied upwards a 

separate order with Konecranes 

for eight RTGs for its Bayport 

Terminal to 13 machines, adding 

US$5.9M to the contract value. 

Konecranes STS cranes being shipped by DockWise to Savannah 

2 

May 2013


Kalmar refurbishment deals 

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has completed 

the heightening of six quay cranes at 

MSC Home Terminal. The project involved 

increasing the hoisting height of 

all the Kalmar quay cranes by 4m from 

38m to 42m above quay level. All modifications 

were completed within a 12 

month time frame Work initially started 

in April 2012. The first crane was recommissioned 

in September and the sixth 

crane was recommissioned in March. The 

cranes were jacked up by Kalmar’s specialist 

crane services team and leg extensions 

were added just below the gross girders. 

In order to maintain stiffness, the sill 

beam was strengthened and bracers were 

installed on the waterside portal frame. 

The project included extension of the 

personnel lift and staircase, partial renewal 

of the electrical wiring and software 

modifications. Essential maintenance 

work to the cranes was also undertaken 

to minimise production downtime. 

Disturbance to quayside operations was 

minimised as the cranes were transported 

by self-propelled modular transporters 

(SPMT) to a designated construction 

site. Once modified, the cranes were then 

transported back to the original position 

on the quay. The cranes are more than 10 

years old and were among the first orders 

placed (by the then Hessenatie) with Kalmar 

after it acquired Nelcon in 2001. 

Kalmar has also announced that it has 

acquired total ownership of the Spanish 

crane refurbishment and maintenance 

service company Mareiport SA. Kalmar 

has owned 30% of Algeciras-based Mareiport 

since 2007 and this takeover is 

described as a strategic step for the company 

to become a major global crane 

It’s a Goa 

for Italgru 

Italgru has delivered a model IHC 2120 

mobile harbour crane to Mormugao Port 

Trust in Goa. Supplied in 4-rope configuration 

to handle bulk as well as general 

cargo and containers, the crane has 

a maximum SWL (hook load) of 120t 

and outreach is 11m -51m. The crane was 

assembled and erected and fully tested 

in Porto Marghera (Venice) and shipped 

fully-erect from there for customer testing 

and final commissioning. A second, 

similar crane remains under option. 

Still in the Indian market, Cochin Port 

Trust has an option for a second Italgru 

IHC 850 mobile harbour crane. The first 

crane, supplied in 4-rope configuration 

and with a 12 m 3 mechanical grab, is also 

equipped with a cable reeling system, so 

the customer can plug it into the mains 

and run it fully electrically when required. 

Crane outreach is between 9m and 36m 

and SWL under hook at 18m is 40t. 

Elsewhere, CCI de Rochefort in south 

west France (River Charente) is testing its 

first IHI 850 (two on order). Three IHC 

2120S cranes for TCDD in the Port of 

Izmir are presently under construction. 

These cranes are similar to the IHC 2120s 

previously supplied to IFA in Ravenna, 

but have a specially reinforced load curve. 

IHC 2120 in container mode in Mormugao 

refurbishment and services provider. 

Mareiport, which was privatelyowned, 

has provided maintenance services 

for ports and terminals and refurbishment 

and heightening services for a large 

variety of different cranes, including quay 

cranes, RTGs, bulk cranes and large shipyard 

cranes especially in the Mediterranean 

area. Last year its sales came to around 

€20M. It employs some 250 people. 

“There are around 5000 quay cranes 

in operation globally,” said Olli Isotalo, 

president of Kalmar. “Most of them have 

been in operation over 10 years and are 

in need of refurbishments and upgrades. 

At the same time, our customers are 

looking for modifications and upgrades 

to their existing quay cranes to handle 

ever larger vessels.” 

Kalmar has also announced an order 

from Terminales Rio de la Plata (TRP) 

in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the extension 

of the booms on two STS container 

cranes supplied by ZPMC. It is 

not clear whether this award is in any 

way connected to the Mareiport developments. 

TRP is part of DP World. 

To handle the larger container vessels 

cascading into north-south trades TRP 

needs longer cranes and in this award 

the outreach of the cranes will be extended 

from 45m to 51m. Kalmar’s team 

has started work on detailed engineering 

plans so that the ZPMC cranes can be 

recommissioned before the end of 2013. 

“Boom extension is one of our focus 

products and we are working with many 

enquiries globally,” said Marcelo Massa, 

managing director of Kalmar Argentina. 

Kalmar has won an order worth 

around €10M for 25 DRF450 reach 

stackers from the Algerian port procurement 

company, Groupement D’Intérêt 

Commun des Entreprises Portuaires 

(GICEP). Delivery is scheduled over the 

next six months to five of the most important 

ports in Algeria: Annaba, Skikda, 

Algiers, Mostagannem and Ghazaouet. 

Port Otago in New Zealand has ordered 

two Kalmar ESC 450W straddle 

carriers along with the Smartfleet maintenance 

support system. 

Crane lift height has been raised by 4m to 

42m at MSC Home Terminal, Antwerp 

TRAILER DESIGN and MANUFACTURE 

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Tel: +41 (0) 52 632 04 00 

Fax: +41 (0) 52 632 04 09 

www.seacom-marine.ch 

May 2013 3


Special Gottwald mobiles for Napier 

Terex Port Solutions (TPS) has 

reported an order for two Terex 

Gottwald G HMK 6408 Model 6 

mobile harbour cranes from longstanding 

customer in New Zealand, 

Port of Napier Ltd. The two 

cranes, each with lifting capacities 

of up to 100t and radii up to 51m, 

will be modified by TPS to meet 

the specific conditions of the 

quays in the port and, from late 

summer 2013, will be handling 

mainly containers. Napier Port 

is expanding its fleet of cranes 

as a result of business growth, 

and is currently the second largest 

in New Zealand’s North Island 

in terms of the volume 

of total export cargo handled. 

Napier currently operates a 

fleet of four Gottwald HMK 280 

E and HMK 300 E MHCs that 

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were originally supplied with 

options including an extended 

tower and special chassis. With 

the two new cranes, the chassis 

will be fitted with a special set of 

axles that are spaced further apart 

than normal to take account of 

the site conditions. The chassis 

will also be equipped with eight 

axles, which will prevent the permitted 

loading of the quay from 

being exceeded. For the same 

reason, the extended propping 

system will provide an increased 

area to take into account the specific 

quay conditions. 

TPS has also delivered and 

commissioned the first of two 

Terex Gottwald HMK 170E mobile 

harbour cranes ordered by St 

Peter Port Harbour in Guernsey, 

as part of a turnkey contract that 

The chassis and propping system, seen here at the Gottwald plant in Düsseldorf, 

has been adapted to special on-site conditions in Napier 

includes demolition of a quayside 

portal crane and a 32t quayside 

scotch derrick, along with civil 

reinstatement. The second new 

HMK 170E is slated for delivery 

this November, and TPS will demolish 

two more old cranes. 

Practically all Guernsey’s trade 

with the rest of Britain and the 

world passes through St Peter 

Port and the harbour is currently 

undergoing a £13.75M refurbishment 

of its freight handling 

facilities. The modernisation includes 

replacement of four existing 

cranes with the two Gottwald 

cranes, which will handle 50,000t 

of container freight per year. 

The 63t configuration HMK 

170E MHCs have a radius of 38m 

and feature self-powered diesel 

generators. For increased efficiency 

and to avoid exhaust emissions 

within the port, the cranes can 

be hooked up to 11 kV electrical 

shore supply power connections. 

The cranes for Guernsey are 

built in Düsseldorf and transported 

to Antwerp for onward transfer 

by sea-going barge to St Peter 

Port. The port’s Harbour Master, 

Captain Peter Gill, stated that 

TPS provided the lowest cost, 

technically acceptable proposal as 

part of the open tender process. 

“When fully operational, the 

two cranes will be doing the 

work of the four former cranes, 

with obvious benefits in terms of 

the utilisation of available space 

and operational efficiency,” said 

Gill. “The transfer of the [first] 

crane from the barge to the 

quayside was carried out during 

a limited window of opportunity, 

dictated by the 10m tidal 

rise and fall that we experience 

at the harbour. The delivery and 

commissioning processes were 

carried out in a thoroughly professional 

manner.” 

TPS’s recently appointed UK 

director Alex Stogianidis added: 

“Our ability to provide technology-led 

solutions, backed by 

turnkey engineering and logistics 

packages, places us in a strong position 

to continue to win significant 

high profile contracts, reinforcing 

our position as a market leader.” 

Liebherr confirms 

repeat orders 

Exolgan will shortly take delivery of its ninth Liebherr STS crane 

Liebherr Container Cranes in 

Ireland has confirmed a brief 

report in the November 2012 

edition of WorldCargo News (p1) 

that existing customer HPC 

Available from WorldCargo News 

“Container Terminal Planning - A Theoretical Approach” 

A major study by Dr Itsuro Watanabe (Container System Technology) 

This comprehensive 245 page study is an in-depth analysis of capacity constraints, productivity, selectivity and flexibility of different container 

handling systems in terminals of different types and sizes: common-users or dedicated; hub centre (transshipment and/or relay) or import/export 

vocation; gateway or feeder port;intermodal rail or truck distribution inland; with or without CFS, etc. Profusely illustrated with charts,figures 

and explanatory tables. Effects of different call patterns of containerships and dwell day regimes.Predictive power provided through development 

of queuing theories. Hundreds of detailed equations. 

Price: £165 or US$245 or 245 including postage and packing. 

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Please invoice my company - we will mail study on receipt of payment. 

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Expiry date 

Ukraina, part of HHLA, has ordered 

three more STS cranes for 

the new project of Odessa Container 

Terminal along the port’s 

Karantinny (Quarantine) Mole. 

HPC Ukraina already operates 

four Liebherr STS cranes at the 

existing container terminal. This 

has a capacity for 0.7M TEU/ 

year and the new facility is estimated 

at 0.6M TEU/year. 

The cranes will have an outreach 

of 54.5m (20-wide), a lift 

height over rail of 41.5m and a 

SWL of 65t in twin-20 mode. 

HPC Ukraina already operates 

four Liebherr ship-to-shore 

cranes at the existing terminal. 

These have a 17-wide deck coverage 

(46m outreach), their lift 

height is 34m and SWL in twin- 

20 mode is 50t. 

In Buenos Aires, Dock Sud 

container terminal operator 

Exolgan has confirmed the order 

for its ninth STS crane from 

Liebherr. Like the eighth crane 

handed over last September, this 

has an outreach of 51.5m (20- 

wide), a lift height of 40m and a 

SWL of 62.5t in twin-20 mode. 

Again the “upsizing” is significiant. 

Nos 6 and 7 delivered in 

2010 have an 18-wide deck coverage 

(50.5m) and a lift height of 

30.5m, although SWL in twin- 

20 mode is understood to be 65t. 

As previously reported, the 

Karantinny Mole project finally 

got underway in April 

2010, after five years of protractions 

and delays. In August 

2011 a US$70M dredging and 

hydraulic engineering contract 

was awarded to Hamburg-based 

Josef Moebius. The total project 

is estimated at US$200M and 

the three new cranes, said to be 

worth US$35M, are the second 

big ticket item after the Moebius 

award. 

The new terminal is being 

built on a raised beach occupying 

19.3-ha and will offer 650m 

of berthing space with a depth 

of 16m alongside. The paved 

yard will occupy 11.24-ha and 

will have a static storage capacity 

of 16,000 TEU. 

Fax 

this form to 

+44 1372 370111 

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4 

May 2013

“Control 

Techniques 

helped 

raise our 

efficiency” 

Paolo Mussi 

Technical Manager, 

La Spezia Container Terminal 

Paolo Mussi, Technical Manager at La Spezia Container Terminal, 

is delighted with the partnership between the terminal and 

Control Techniques; a relationship that is now ten years old. 

“All our cranes are equipped with Control Techniques drives, 

and by sharing their expertise with our key electrical staff, 

they have helped us to improve our efficiency and productivity.” 

To find out more about this and other successful 

Control Techniques projects visit www.controltechniques.com 

EMERSON. CONSIDER IT SOLVED. 

TM


Liebherr toasts Galigrain 

Liebherr-Werk Nenzing reports that 

Spanish customer Galigrain SA in the 

Port of Marín is regularly reaching a 

peak rate of 1800 tph with its 4-rope 

LHM 550, which is used to unload 

bulkers up to panamax size. The crane, 

which is fitted with Liebherr’s hybrid 

Pactronic drive, was supplied in 2011. 

With a maximum outreach of 54m and 

a maximum lift capacity of 144t, the 

crane is also used to handle general cargoes. 

Galigrain opted for the LHM 550 

with the Pactronic hybrid power 

booster to improve the efficiency 

of bulk handling. The hybrid drive 

system, says Liebherr, allows for more 

turnover and less fuel consumption at 

Galigrain’s success highlights the benefits of the LHM 550 and Pactronic Drive, states Liebherr 

Container terminal technology for horizontal transport 

Our systems are designed with a committed responsibility to safety as well as to the environment in 

and around container terminals. These two considerations combine to improve capacity and system 

reliability, generally advancing the cost-efficiency of container port logistics. 

bherr, helped us to optimise operational 

parameters,” said García. “As a result of 

the harmonisation of Galigrain’s bulk 

transportation chain, the utilisation of 

the crane capacity has significantly improved, 

leading to new turnover peaks.” 

As previously reported, the Pactronic 

hydraulic hybrid drive system includes 

an accumulator as a secondary energy 

source instead of a bigger or additional 

diesel engine and it regenerates the reverse 

power while lowering the load. 

In addition, the surplus power of the 

primary energy source is also used for 

charging the accumulator. The stored 

energy is transferred back to the system 

when the crane requires peak power 

during hoisting. In terms of turnover 

capacity, that means a plus of 30% compared 

to a conventional machine with 

equal power rating of the primary energy 

source. 

In addition, Pactronic leads to a reduction 

of fuel/energy consumption 

(litre/tonne) as well as CO 2 

and exhaust 

emissions in the range of 30% depending 

on the operation. 

The hybrid drive system is claimed 

to be virtually maintenance-free, as it 

just needs visible inspection every 10 

years. 100% recyclability as well as reduced 

noise exposure are additional 

eco-friendly benefits. 

New GPA 

simulator 

Earlier this year GlobalSim delivered an 

advanced crane training simulator to the 

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) facility 

at Garden City Terminal in Savannah, 

Georgia. The simulator is configured 

with two separate models to provide 

training for both a Konecranes STS 

cranes and a Konecranes RTG. 

“The modular design of the simulator 

allows for a wide degree of custom hardware 

and software components,” said 

GlobalSim’s SVP sales and marketing, 

Clyde Stauffer. “Specifically, GlobalSim 

was able to tailor the system to provide a 

training tool that matches the hardware 

layout and equipment functionality of 

both crane configurations. This includes 

the integration of a cross-reeved spread 

hoist cable model with an accurate physics 

model and realistic visual model.” 

The simulator replicates the critical 

functions required to train crane personnel 

for normal, advanced, and emergency 

operating procedures of each crane. 

The training arena was specially developed 

to replicate the GPA’s Garden City 

Terminal, including a dogleg in the quay 

crane rail path, its reefer rack configuration 

and intermodal rail yard. 

Stauffer said the level of visual reality 

and physics modeling in GlobalSim’s 

products continues to evolve. The GPA 

will benefit from new modeling of night 

operations that recreates the yard high 

mast and equipment-mounted floodlights 

that are used during night operations. 

GlobalSim is now working with 

GPA to define integration of its new 

eRTG s with the Conductix-Wampfler 

drive-in system into the training system. 

While around 50% of the simulators 

GlobalSim supplies are now containerised, 

the GPA system will be housed in 

its own training centre. GlobalSim will 

supply a training records management 

database permitting comprehensive collection, 

assessing, and reporting of all 

student performance data. 

The GPA student training station is housed 

in the port authority’s own training centre 

the same time, each in the range of 30%. 

“The LHM 550 has enlarged the capacity 

and performance of our terminals 

and fits perfectly into our efforts towards 

more efficient and environmentally 

friendly operations,” Galigrain’s managing 

director Ceferino Nogueira García 

said. “The performance of the crane exceeded 

by far our expectations and we 

are frequently reaching a peak turnover 

of 1800 tph.” High productivity has attracted 

more business. 

In Marín, Liebherr engineers analysed 

the port infrastructure and the 

logistics processes in detail in order to 

increase speed of bulk transportation 

throughout the port. “A detailed analysis 

of the crane data, carried out by Liewww.ttsgroup.com 

6 

May 2013

NEWS CARGO HANDLING/PORT NEWS 

ZPMC going direct 

ZPMC is moving to rationalise its network 

of agents and spare parts suppliers 

and will be setting up a network of 15 

offices worldwide to service customers 

in large markets directly. 

ZPMC has never really sought exclusive 

arrangements with agencies 

and crane service companies, some of 

which are operated by its biggest customers, 

for the supply of crane spare 

parts. This has at times created confusion 

among customers as competing 

companies have claimed they are the 

exclusive agent for ZPMC parts in a 

particular region. In some instances terminals 

have opted to purchased direct 

from ZPMC in Shanghai rather than 

deal with agents, despite Customs issues 

and longer delivery times. 

With such a large number of cranes 

in service there is obviously enormous 

potential in the spare parts market, 

which to date ZPMC has not capitalised 

on fully. It has now set up ZPMC 

Netherlands as a 100% daughter company 

under the leadership of Tony Tomasouw 

as director of operations. He 

was formerly at ZPMC Europe. 

Tomasouw said ZPMC will have 

more than one subsidiary in Europe and 

its former arrangement with ZPMC 

Europe (which was an independent 

company and not a ZPMC subsidiary) 

has been discontinued. Geographical 

boundaries are still being finalised, but 

Tomasouw said the Netherlands office 

will serve Holland, France, Belgium 

and the UK, while a German branch 

Honduran 

tender off 

The tender to build a dry bulk terminal 

at the Honduran port of Cortés has 

been cancelled and will begin again. 

The three companies overseeing the 

process - the Commission for Public- 

Private Alliances (Coalianza), the National 

Port Authority (ENP) and Banco 

Atlántica - judged that the two bidders 

had not entered a bid complying with 

the tender requirements. 

The Mexican consortium composed 

of Multisur and Grupo Naviera Peninsular 

offered the lowest tariffs, but 

its financial offer was viewed as being 

incomplete. Chile’s SAAM Puertos 

wanted tariffs that were viewed as too 

high. 

Neither company has yet declared 

whether they will bid for a new concession. 

SAAM stressed that its proposal 

met conditions set out in the tender 

document. 

will serve Germany, Russia and Scandinavia. 

In Rotterdam the company formerly 

known as ZPMC Europe has changed 

its name to “EPMC Europe” and is still 

advertising itself as the “official agent 

from ZPMC Shanghai” and advertising 

the full range of ZPMC cranes and 

spare parts. 

✉ A team from ZPMC, the national 

University of Singapore and Shanghai 

Maritime University has won the 

US$1M “Next Generation Container 

Port Challenge” prize from the Marine 

and Port Administration of Singapore 

and Singapore Maritime Institute (see 

page 49). 

T 230 

Australia’s first Terberg 6 x 4 

Through its Australian distributor and 

service agent, Clark Equipment, Terberg 

Benscop recently supplied what 

Clark claims to be the first 6 x 4 Terberg 

YT in the country, to Toll Intermodal, 

part of Toll Group, in Western 

Australia. 

Toll required low axle weights and 

it also specified a EURO 5 compliant 

engine. 

According to Toll Intermodal the 

decision to specify the 6x4 axle configuration 

was influenced by the need 

to allow the yard tractor unrestricted 

access throughout the terminal and 

connecting roads when handling laden 

trailers. 

The 6x4 configuration effectively 

delivers lower axle loads and ground 

bearing pressure compared to the more 

popular 4x2 twin axle models. 

Toll Intermodal also specified the 

option of the EURO 5 compliant 

Cummins ISB 162kW six cylinder diesel 

engine. 

Clark also offers a range of Terberg 

4x2 and 4x4 tractors which, depending 

upon the model selected, are offered 

with the option of a Cummins or 

Mercedes Tier IIIA engine or EURO 5 

compliant engine. 

The first Terberg YT220 6x4 EURO 5 

compliant yard tractor in Australia 

THE NEW HIGHLIGHT FOR YOUR TERMINAL 

Boost for 

Karlskrona 

Stena Line plans to build a new rail terminal 

in the Swedish port of Karlskrona 

to connect with Gothenburg and Stockholm. 

The Stena group bought the port 

of Karlskrona in southern Sweden 

in 2012. Stena’s Jacob Koch-Nielsen, 

freight commercial manager, said that 

being able to offer intermodal solutions 

and connected rail capacity over Karlskrona 

“will open new doors into the 

market.” 

Stena Line carried almost 87,000 

cargo units in its Gdynia-Karlskrona 

liner service in 2012, an increase of 7.3% 

compared with the previous year. 

The line added that it is too early to 

give detailed information as to the investment 

and capacity of the new railhead, 

but the facility will enable it to offer 

a through transport deal to customers. 

Separately, Stena’s UK and Ireland 

freight manager, Richard Horswill, has 

said that the company is placing more 

emphasis on its entire network services 

rather than route-by-route. 

QUALITY MADE IN GERMANY 

Designed for container handling to increase efficiency 

MAFI Eco Mode – an intelligent drive programme for 

environment-friendly operation and reduced cost of ownership 

Powerful and long-lasting 

sales@mafi.de 

www.mafi.de 

May 2013 7


news 

New bulk tipping Container Mover 

Finland-based Oy Meclift Ltd has come 

up with another niche product, based on 

its proven ML36CM Container Mover 

range. Movers have been around for a long 

time (since the mid-1980s) and they provide 

terminal tractors with the ability to 

ground or pick up containers, transport 

them over long distances and load or unload 

road chassis. They are either fixed or 

telescoping, to handle 20ft, 30ft and 40/ 

45ft containers. 

In this new development, designated 

ML36CMt, Meclift has provided the terminal 

tractor with the ability to tip the 

bulk contents of a 20ft dry can container. 

the 20ft container is a 9ft 6in high cube. 

Depending on the terminal tractor, the 

lifting speed is 1 m/sec and the tilting 

speed is equivalent to 1.5-2 deg/sec. Depending 

on lifting height, the maximum 

tilting angle is 42 deg. The sideways movement 

of the top lift units is ± 150mm. 

The ML36CMt has an overall length 

of 10m and is 4120mm wide, and the distance 

between its wheels is 3m. Overall 

height is 4120mm with a container and 

3800mm in unladen travel mode. Options 

include a weigh scale (for example, if 

proof-of-load is required), a rear view 

camera and monitor to assist the tractor 

Prior to tilting, the container doors 

are opened and secured to the sidewalls 

by the tractor operator or other worker, 

using a manually operated chain and hook 

combination. However, as an other option 

the ML36CMt can also be fitted with 

semi-automatic, hydraulically-operated 

door securing latches attached to the rear 

toplift unit. 

The horizontal forces caused by the 

load during tilting, which are directed to 

the upper corners of the container, are 

compensated by hydraulic tightening of 

the chains, the hooks of which are fastened 

to the lower rear corner castings. 

Lifting capacity is 36t and lifting height driver, automatic lubrication and automatic 

levelling of drive height. 

with the door opening. 

The chains are tightened simultaneously 

EU-878-Cranes 178x254M2_EU-878-Cranes 178x254M2 21.01.13 13:45 Seite 1 

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CARGO HANDLING/PORT NEWS 

The ML36CMt has an SWL of 36 tonnes. 

The maximum tilt angle is 42 deg 

TTS for 

Pelindo III 

TTS Group has, through its subsidiary 

TTS Port Equipment AB, signed an 

agreement to supply seven 2-axle 

translifters together with 90 cassettes for 

the PT Terminal Petikemas Surabaya in 

Indonesia (Pelindo III, Tanjung Perak). 

Pelindo III will be the first lo-lo container 

terminal operator in Asia to use the 

cassette/translifter system. The equipment 

will be used mainly to transport containers 

to and from the yard and the customs 

inspection area. 

“This order demonstrates that the 

TTS cassette system can be a good solution 

for brown field terminals that 

need to boost their productivity,” said 

CEO Johannes D Neteland. This statement 

effectively confirms that the order 

is not associated with Pelindo III’s automated 

terminal project at Lamong Bay, 

which is a “green field” development 

(WorldCargo News, March 2013, p41). 

TTS has designed the translifters for 

Pelindo III in such a way that they fit the 

existing equipment used in the terminal, 

thus the investment cost for changing the 

mode of operation is kept to a minimum. 

Delivery of the equipment is scheduled 

for November 2013. 

The cassettes themselves are designed 

to support containers safely while being 

quickly transported, and containers can 

be stacked and carried on a single cassette 

in a variety of configurations. 

The translifters will be equipped with 

a lifting gooseneck so that it can be fitted 

to the standard road trucks (with fixed 

fifth wheels) that are used to move the 

containers within the terminal today. 

The Tanjung Perak terminal will be 

the third lo-lo container terminal in the 

world to utilise the TTS cassette system. 

Pelindo III will join APM Terminals Virginia 

(APMTV) in the USA and (the order 

confirmed recently) DP World’s new 

London Gateway terminal in the UK. 

In the latter two cases, the system is 

(will be) deployed to shuttle containers 

between the container yard (the landside 

end of the automated stacking crane 

stacks) and the on-dock rail yard. 

DP World has ordered 10 2-axle 

translifters and 115 cassettes for London 

Gateway, phase 1. APMTV took its first 

delivery of 10 translifters and 220 cassettes 

in 2007 and placed a repeat order for the 

same numbers of equipment in 2011. 

TTS’s CEO Johannes D Neteland 

plastics for longer life ® 

igus ® GmbH 

Spicher Str. 1a 

D-51147 Cologne 

cranes@igus.com 

phone +49-2203-9649-0 

fax +49-2203-9649-222 

Austria +43-7675-40 05-0 

Belgium +32-16-314431 

Brazil +55-11-35314487 

Canada +1-905-7608448 

China +86-21-51303100 

Denmark +45-86-603373 

France +33-1-49840404 

Great-Britain +44-1604-677240 

India +91-80-39127800 

Italy +39-039-5906-1 

Japan +81-3-58192030 

Malaysia +603-7880 5475 

Mexico +52-728-284-3185 

Netherlands +31-346-353932 

Poland +48-22-8635770 

Portugal +351-22-6109000 

Singapore +65-64871411 

South Africa +27-11-312-1848 

South Korea +82-32-8212911 

Spain +34-936-473 950 

Sweden +46-42-329270 

Switzerland +41-62-3889797 

Taiwan +886-4-23581000 

USA +1-401-4382200 

8 

May 2013

PARTNERS IN 

PRODUCTIVITY 

Man Meets Machine In Hamburg 

The creators of the future in container handling will be the innovators 

– teams with the imagination to join man with machine to achieve more 

productive performance. HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), 

with its pioneering automation and dual-cycle container handling, is 

one of these elite organizations. Part of HHLA, which also includes other 

highly-efficient terminals, CTA can move 130+ containers an hour on 

mega-vessels. 

In 10 years the facility has rapidly and reliably handled more than 20 

million TEU. High-throughput automated terminals demand the highest 

reliability in equipment, which is why you will find 170 Bromma crane 

spreaders at HHLA today, with 95 of them at automated CTA. To create 

a “gold standard” terminal you need the right equipment, the right 

support, and the right imagination. You need a partner in productivity. 

In Germany, and everywhere, 

Bromma is committed to helping our customers succeed.

Hold-up for Lekki 

Construction of the new port of Lekki in impact assessment had been received. 

Nigeria has been delayed. The project was As previously reported, the deep water 

originally scheduled to open last year and port is being developed by Singapore’s 

latterly was expected to be completed in Tolaram Group, which aims to promote 

2015. This date has now been put back to it as a transhipment port, as well as an 

2016 at the earliest and, given the delays entrepôt for trade in Lagos State. Located 

about 60 km east of Lagos, the port 

that have affected development to date, it 

may not open until sometime after that. will be ideally situated to serve one of 

No official explanation has been the world’s biggest cities. The container 

given for the slippage in the timetable, terminal, set to be operated by ICTSI 

but some sources in Nigeria have suggested 

that there could be funding diffi- 

handling capacity of 2.5M TEU a year, 

under contract from Tolaram, will have 

culties. Responding to such reports, the which will make it the biggest container 

facility in Nigeria. China Harbour 

managing director of Lekki Free Trade 

Zone, Haresh Aswani, said that construction 

would begin as soon as World the EPC turnkey contract to develop 

Engineering Company has been awarded 

Bank approval and the full environmental the entire port, including the container, 

Host Port 

Conference | Exhibition | Free Technical Seminars 

| Port Tour | Networking 

The Lekki project is subject to further delay 

dry bulk and liquid bulk terminals. 

Aswani said that US$800M out of the 

required US$1.55B funding had already 

been put in place and that 33 out of the 

36 required permits had been received, 

allowing the project to be completed by 

2016. He added that the project would 

“create close to 163,000 new jobs and 

spur economic development.” 

Transiidikeskuse (TK), the company 

that operates Muuga Container Terminal 

(MCT) in the Estonian port (Noviy 

Tallinn), has acquired Rail Garant 

Estonia (RGE), up to now the local affiliate 

of Russia’s major privately owned 

industrial rail carrier Rail Garant 

(RG) and the designated operator of 

Muuga’s prospective second container 

terminal. 

TK’s chairman Erik Laidvee said 

that MCT will soon reach the limit of 

its capacity. The facility occupies just 

21-ha, but traffic has grown very quickly 

in the past 2-3 years. In 2012 MCT 

handled almost 225,000 TEU, 15% 

more than the figure in 2011, which itself 

was 30% up on 2010, so the acquisi- 

PORT NEWS 

Muuga acquisition deal 

1-3 October 2013 

MACC, Miami, USA 

Closing the Infrastructure Gap 

Investment, Innovation & Inland Efficiency 

Join the conversation at the TOC CSC Americas Conference & Exhibition 

Speakers already 

confirmed include 

Alejandro Plascencia 

CIO Latin America & 

Caribbean, 

Hutchison Ports Holdings 

Robbert Jan van Trooijen 

Chief Executive, 

Latin America & the Caribbean, 

Maersk Line 

Howard Finkel 

Executive Vice President Trade 

Division, 

COSCO Container Lines America 

Eric Olafson 

Manager Intergovernmental 

Affairs & Cargo Development, 

PortMiami 

John Carver 

Executive Vice President, 

Ports America 

Adam Beauchamp 

Director, 

APM Terminals Americas 

Guillaume Lucci 

VP and Global Infrastructure 

Director, 

ICTSI 

Associate Sponsor 

Who attends 

More info & to book: www.tocevents-americas.com 

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tion allows TK to increase its business. 

Initially the new terminal will occupy 

27-ha, but there is a further 44-ha in 

reserve. 

“Our company’s development plan 

has always called for an expansion of 

the [existing] container terminal,” said 

Laidvee, “so now we can achieve our 

ambition to develop one of the Baltic 

region’s largest container terminals.” 

TK has taken over not only the 

building rights on the new terminal, 

but has also concluded a stevedoring 

agreement with RG enabling it to handle 

the Russian group’s container traffic 

via Muuga. It will proceed immediately 

with phase 1, with an installed capacity 

of 150,000 TEU. Completion is slated 

for July 2014. 

This is somewhat later than the port’s 

plan. RG started building the new facility 

in January last year and committed 

to have the first stage ready by the first 

quarter of this year, but the work came 

to a virtual standstill in the second half 

of 2012. 

The value of the transaction between 

TK and RG has not been disclosed, 

but the deal puts an end to the dispute 

between the two companies stirred up 

in April 2011 when RGE beat TK in 

the tender for the concession rights 

over the new facility. Under fire from 

TK, the port authority stated that it had 

chosen RG because the Russian transportation 

group would be able to secure 

steady container traffic over Muuga. TK 

countered that RG had no experience 

of port operations and could not make 

any guarantees on transit business. 

On the basis of RG’s plans to build 

a network of inland container rail 

terminals in Russia, the port authority 

undertook to develop a new rail yard 

adjacent to Muuga railway station 

with new approach lines and four or 

five 1000m long tracks to handle full 

length trains. 

New port for 

Walvis Bay 

The government of Namibia is 

considering the development of an 

entirely new port in Walvis Bay, about 

3 km north of the existing harbour. 

Plans to construct a new container 

terminal at the existing port had been 

delayed, apparently because of funding 

difficulties. However, it appears that 

government uncertainty over the 

project stemmed from consideration of 

the far more ambitious scheme. There 

is little room for expansion around the 

existing port, which is hemmed in by 

residential areas. 

Apart from a container terminal with 

handling capacity of 2M TEU/year, 

a coal terminal is expected to be constructed 

to handle coal exports from 

Botswana, along with liquid bulk, breakbulk 

and multi-purpose terminals. 

Officials have hinted that the port 

will be operated by the state-owned 

Namibia Port Authority (Namport) on 

land that is already owned by the state. 

There is sufficient available land for both 

the port and a proposed industrial park. 

A harbour entrance channel and part of 

the deepwater harbour basin must be 

dredged and about 10 kms of quay wall 

constructed. 

Reports in the Namibian press suggest 

that the Chinese government will 

help to fund the project. Located much 

further north west than any South African 

port, trade via Walvis Bay would 

shave days off shipping between North 

America or Europe and Southern Africa. 

However, China’s involvement 

could suggest that the coal terminal, 

which will primarily handle coal bound 

for Asia, is a key part of the vision. The 

Export-Import Bank of China had offered 

to provide funding for the new 

container terminal at the existing port 

via a 20-year loan with an interest rate of 

just 2% a year. This funding may now be 

transferred to the new venture, as long as 

a Chinese company is awarded the construction 

contract. 

10 

TOC AM13 con ad 210x297_WCN.indd 1 12/06/2013 14:14 

May 2013

PORT NEWS 

Táranto dispute 

As if the corruption scandal engulfing 

ILVA, Europe’s largest 

steel plant, and the damage caused 

by the huge tornado last November 

were not enough, the Port 

of Táranto has been hit by legal 

action by bulk operator Consorzio 

Terminal Rinfuse Táranto 

(CTRT), a sister company of 

quarry company Italcave and 

ship agent Carmed within the 

privately-owned Caramia group. 

The regional tribunal in Lecce 

(TAR Lecce) has upheld a claim 

brought by CTRT against the 

port authority (APT) over the 

non-renewal of a concession to 

operate a dry bulk terminal on 

a 46,695 m 2 parcel, with a 300m 

long quay, at the port’s Multisector 

Dock (Molo Polisettoriale). TAR 

Lecce has put a stop to €100M of 

infrastructure works and dredging 

to take depth to -16.5m - projects 

aimed at relaunching the Evergreen 

container terminal (TCT). 

APT's appeal will be heard by 

the Council of State on 23 October, 

so it is hoping this will be a 

temporary delay. At risk is around 

€200M of new investment, including 

Evergreen’s commitment 

to new equipment and other 

improvements. In theory at least, 

another €219M earmarked for 

the adjacent logistics park is not 

affected, but its fortunes are inevitably 

tied up with those of the 

container terminal. 

CTRT’s facility is located at the 

neck of the Multisector Wharf and 

was originally dedicated to pet coke 

trades. APT awarded it to CTRT 

for two years and the concession 

expired at the end of 2011, although 

CTRT originally asked for 

four years and has continued operations 

there pending the review. 

The key to this dispute is that 

the facility has become a major 

revenue earner for Caramia 

since the tornado that hit Táranto 

on 28 November last year. The 

ILVA coal and iron ore reception 

wharf was badly damaged 

and two gantry grab unloaders 

were destroyed. Until the berth 

can be put back into action ILVA 

is using CTRT and Caramia is 

reported to be earning €50,000/ 

day by virtue of a price of €3/ 

tonne unloaded. Materials are unloaded 

directly to dumper trucks 

via hoppers and driven to the 

ILVA plant. 

Port observers in Italy say Caramia 

is putting a temporary “windfall” 

ahead of future revenue 

streams, since Carmed is the agent 

for all Evergreen group’s container 

traffic over TCT. Its action 

could damage Carmed’s credibility 

in the eyes of Evergreen and 

weaken the Taiwanese carrier’s 

commitment to the port. 

Last year judges ordered €1B 

of steel and steel products seizure 

from ILVA as part of an ongoing 

corruption investigation linked to 

serious breaches of environmental 

law. The authorities ordered a 

partial closure of the steelworks 

last July over pollution levels and 

eight executives were placed under 

house arrest. In January this 

year a top ILVA executive was arrested 

in London. 

The steel company has embarked 

on a 2-year clean-up operation 

after prosecutors charged 

that toxic emissions from the 

plant have led to abnormally high 

levels of cancer and respiratory illnesses 

in the region. 

DP World for Quequén 

Through its local affiliate and 

Puerto Nuevo, Buenos Aires terminal 

operator, Terminales Rio 

de la Plata (TRP), DP World 

has signed an agreement with 

Quequén port authority (Consorcio 

de Gestion de Puerto 

Quequén) (CGPQ) in the province 

of Buenos Aires to develop 

a new container terminal and related 

logistics park. 

Puerto Quequén (also known 

as Necochea) is located 512 kms 

south of the city of Buenos Aires 

and is a key area for agricultural 

/04 10:35 AM Page 1 

exports from BA province and 

the Midwest of Argentina. The 

agreement will help shippers diversify 

markets with the parcelisation 

that containerisation brings, 

and increase the opportunities 

for selling specialty grains and IPdesignated 

crops. 

Shipments will be likely feedered 

to Buenos Aires, or Montevideo 

or Rio Grande do Sul for 

transhipment to deepsea vessels. 

CGPQ is understood to have 

signed a separate agreement with 

a regional feeder operator. 

Monrovia hub opens 

APM Terminals’ newly completed 

600m quay at Liberia’s Freeport 

of Monrovia has been officially 

opened by President Ellen Johnson 

Sirleaf. The 17-ha terminal 

is APMT’s first 100%-owned 

port concession in Africa, which 

will operate under a 25-year 

deal agreed in 2010. A three-year 

deadline for completion of the 

new wharf was stipulated in the 

concession agreement, concluded 

on a build-operate-transfer model. 

APMT said it was a tight deadline 

which it met ahead of schedule. 

Infrastructure investments will 

include roadway reconstruction, 

yard paving, new offices and gates 

and cargo handling technology. 

APMT is obliged to invest around 

US$120M over the term of the 

concession, but the company 

said it will invest an additional 

US$25M to upgrade the container 

yard, buildings, gates and safety 

activities. 

Pictured at the opening ceremony (L-R): President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; 

Matilda Parker, managing director of the National Port Authority; Christina 

Tah, minister of justice; and Brian Fuggle, MD of APM Terminals Liberia 

Container Handling Cranes 

Rubber Tyred Gantry Crane 

Rail Mounted Gantry Crane 

Rail Mounted Quayside Crane 

Bulk Material Handling Cranes 

Grab Bucket Ship Unloader 

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Progress on Lamu 

A consortium of Chinese companies 

has been awarded a contract 

to begin construction work on 

the new port of Lamu in Kenya. 

China Communications Construction 

Company is the lead 

contractor, while China Road 

and Bridge Corporation will 

build the first phase of the container 

terminal with three berths. 

The port is designed to be 

the centrepiece of the far larger 

Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia 

Transport (LAPSSET) corridor 

project, which will include 

an industrial zone, agro-industrial 

projects, road and rail links 

to Ethiopia and South Sudan, 

and an oil pipeline from South 

Sudan to the new port. Telecoms 

and power lines are planned to 

run alongside the main roads and 

railways. 

The government of landlocked 

South Sudan, which is the 

world’s newest country, is keen to 

see Lamu develop as its main port. 

The chief executive of LAPSSET, 

Silvester Kasuku, said: “We called 

Ahead in Technology 

Unmatched in 

for contractors and the best was 

a consortium headed by China 

Communications. We are doing 

the seed investment by constructing 

the first three berths, 

just to break the ground. This 

will demonstrate there is government 

commitment and investment 

and provide incentives for 

private sector investors to come 

on board.” The container terminal 

has been designed to provide 

scope for 32 berths in the long 

term. 

The ancient town of Lamu on 

the island of Lamu has a long history 

as a port, but has not been 

developed as a commercial port 

since independence. The new 

port project will be built on 

Manda Bay on the mainland, opposite 

the island. However, contracts 

on the project were awarded 

by the government of Kenyan 

President Mwai Kibaki, which 

lost power in the April elections. 

It remains to be seen whether the 

new government will honour 

the existing plans. 

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May 2013 11

South African transport utility 

Transnet has taken the first steps 

towards developing Africa’s biggest 

container terminal on the site 

of the old Durban International 

Airport (DIA). The airport site, 

which is located south of the existing 

Port of Durban, was made 

available when DIA closed and 

the new King Shaka International 

Airport opened. The details remain 

to be finalised, but Transnet 

believes that a 9.6M TEU/year 

capacity container terminal could 

be developed as a public private 

partnership over about 20 years at 

a cost of R75B (US$8.16B). 

Transnet has begun to hold 

meetings with stakeholders in 

the project, including the general 

public and local businesses. Marc 

Descoins, Transnet’s programme 

director for the project, said: “Involving 

key stakeholders at this 

early stage of the process is essential 

as it ensures strategic participation 

in the discussion around the 

project’s environmental and socio-economic 

issues and impacts. 

“The objective of engaging 

during the concept phase is to 

share project information, open 

lines of communication with 

stakeholders, and actively engage 

key representatives of the various 

stakeholder groups with the view 

to initiate dialogue on the project. 

We believe that the recent sessions 

were valuable in gaining a better 

understanding of the needs of the 

local communities.” 

Government ownership of 

Transnet and support for the 

project should ease progress on 

the scheme. The company has 

already set out a preliminary 

timetable for development and a 

shortlist of likely design options 

should be finalised over the next 

three months, allowing the prefeasibility 

study to begin. 

Four phases are planned for 

the container terminal, each with 

four berths. The first phase is due 

to open for business in 2020 and 

the fourth by 2037, although this 

timetable could be adjusted according 

to demand. A dedicated 

roro terminal is also planned. 

As always, there have been environmental 

objections, although 

some of these concern the site’s 

proposed new oil terminal, rather 

than the container terminal at the 

heart of the venture. 

The government intends to 

promote the project as part of 

the wider development of the 

Durban-Gauteng corridor, including 

new high speed rail 

and upgraded road connections 

between South Africa’s 

biggest port and its industrial 

heartland. 

In a separate development, Transnet 

has rejected calls for South 

African ports to be privatised. 

Responding to press reports that 

Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL) 

was seeking to gain control of 

Transnet terminals in South Africa, 

Transnet’s chief executive 

Brian Molefe stated: “We are sitting 

on natural monopolies. The 

country isn’t big enough to have 

anything else than what we have. 

The ports handle what a country 

of our size can handle.” 

Transnet owns and manages all 

eight main SA ports, including 

the oil port of Mossel Bay. It also 

operates almost all large terminals, 

with the exception of Richards 

Bay Coal Terminal and a handful 

of smaller terminals, such as Durban 

coal terminal. 

The transport utility’s position 

on private sector management has 

remained consistent over many 

years. The only area of possible 

The recent commissioning of 

seven new tandem-lift super postpanamax 

ship-to-shore gantry 

cranes from ZPMC at South Africa’s 

largest port Durban, should, 

according to the nation’s public 

enterprises minister, Malusi Gigaba, 

boost the much needed improvements 

in productivity and 

efficiency levels at the port. 

He said the new equipment 

will allow gross crane moves per 

hour (GCH) - a key measure of 

terminal efficiency and how well 

equipment is used - to jump 

from the current 26 moves to 33 

over the next three years, a 27% 

improvement in productivity. 

He added: “Ship working hour 

(SWH), the rate at which a terminal 

is able to load and offload container 

ships in an hour and a key 

consideration for our customers, 

will also improve, rising from the 

current 68 containers to 85 once 

our operators are fully conversant 

with operating the equipment 

and when newer generation vessels 

with larger parcel sizes call at 

our ports. This will represent a 

25% jump in efficiency.” 

The optimism is a far cry from 

recent cargo-handling performance 

levels at Durban, a port 

which some of its customers have 

described as being among their 

worst performing and most expensive 

in their liner networks. 

The decision by Transnet Port 

Terminals (TPT) to order new 

cranes in 2011 was itself an admission 

that old, outdated and 

poorly-maintained equipment 

was a principal reason for poor 

and deteriorating performance 

levels in Durban. 

The new cranes, which have 

PORT NEWS 

First steps for new Durban terminal... …Durban expects 

cooperation could be the planned 

new port on the site of the former 

Durban International Airport, on productivity 

where a public private partnership 

is one of several options. However, 

Transnet is becoming more commercially 

viable year on year and 

Pretoria hopes that it can become 

consistently profitable without 

the need to begin offering private 

sector concessions. 

South Africa’s powerful trades 

union movement also opposes 

any further privatisation of stateowned 

entities. At its national 

Explosion-proof Phoenix 

New DLX LED fixture from Phoenix 

conference, the National Union 

of Metalworkers of South Africa 

(Numsa) released a statement: 

“We demand an end to any privatisation 

of Eskom, Telkom, Transnet 

and railway lines as envisaged 

in the NDP [National Development 

Plan] in the name of private 

public partnership. Sometimes we 

hear it called “concessioning” or 

“unbundling,” but it is just 

privatisation by other names. The 

death of Margaret Thatcher must 

signal the end of these Thatcherite 

policies.” 

Phoenix Products Company 

has expanded its range of LED 

lights with three new fixtures 

that have explosion-proof ratings. 

Using 39 watts, the SLXP, 

SLX and DLX LED fixtures are 

designed to replace HID and 

INC floodlights, savings 56% 

energy when compared to a 

70W metal halide equivalent. 

The fixtures are ETL/cETL certified, 

conforming to UL 1598 

Ordinary Locations, 1598A Marine 

Outside Type (Saltwater), 

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(85°C)), CSA, and Nema 4X. 

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hour rated life and are available 

in both flood (45 deg) and 

spot (28 deg) optics. The SLXP 

is portable while the SLX is 

designed to be mounted on a 

stationary object. The DLX is 

delivered with a hard-wired arm 

for explosion-proof task lighting. 

All the fixtures are backed 

by a five year warranty. 

Phoenix has also launched a 

new range of LED tube lights, 

designated LELDT series. 

These are designed to replace 

linear fluorescent fixtures and 

are claimed to use 50% less energy. 

Applications include crane 

walkways, outdoor wet environments, 

etc. 

been installed at Durban’s Pier 2 

facility, have an SWL of 80t and 

can simultaneously handle 2 x 

40ft or 4 x 20ft containers. However, 

according to TPT officials, 

“through further innovation and 

optimum planning, the cranes’ capabilities 

can be stretched to lift 4 

x 40ft empty containers simultaneously 

through vertical twin lift 

procedures.” They have an outreach 

capable of processing vessels 

stowed with 24 containers across 

the deck. 

The new equipment purchased 

for Durban is a part of 

TPT’s parent company’s Transnet’s 

ZAR300B seven-year rolling 

investment programme aimed 

at meeting demand and enhancing 

productivity levels across all of 

its operating units. Specifically at 

Durban’s Pier 2, capital projects 

should ensure that container 

throughput capacity will rise from 

approximately 2.2M TEU now to 

3.3M TEU in 2018. 

The new cranes arrived earlier this 

year. (Photo: Gerhard Duraan) 

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12 

May 2013

NEWS PORT NEWS 

Asciano cuts back budget 

Subdued market conditions at wharves 

and onshore have led Australia’s Asciano 

to shave more than A$250M from its 

capital expenditure budget over the 

next two years. 

Releasing 3Q/FY13 data at a Sydney 

conference, Asciano chief executive 

John Mullen said the planned current 

year spend of A$700M-$800M would 

be cut to A$575M-625M “in line with 

tougher economic conditions,” while 

FY14 investment would drop from 

A$800M-900M to A$700M-800M. 

The period represented an investment 

peak due to the Patrick Port Botany 

terminal redevelopment and significant 

replacement capex catch-up, but ongoing 

annual expenditure was expected to 

be A$300M from FY15. 

The group reported a 4.1% fall in 

container lifts compared to the previous 

comparable quarter (444,000 TEU 

v 463,000 TEU in 2012), with Melbourne 

and Brisbane Patrick terminals 

showing positive results, but Fremantle 

and Port Botany lower, the latter despite 

continued productivity improvement. 

Ahead of the part-automation of Port 

Botany and considering the reduced 

volumes - one client service closed and 

VSA contracts shed throughput - the 

company will accelerate some redundancies 

into 4Q. 

Pacific National intermodal volumes 

slipped 3.4% on a net-tkm basis, but 

steel volumes rose. PN Coal saw strong 

contract growth in Queensland and 

south-eastern Australia, but actual volumes 

slipped. 

There was strong growth in vessels 

stevedored at bulk ports (up 27.5%), 

imported vehicle movements (up 20%) 

and storage days (78.4%), the latter as 

vehicle importers took advantage of 

favourable currency exchange rates to 

grow their local market. 

Mullen said revenue and earnings 

before interest and taxes for the second 

half of the 2013 financial year were 

ZHEN HUA 21 arriving in Fremantle to deliver 

one ZPMC post-Panamax STS crane 

(Photo: Fremantle Ports) 

still expected to be higher than the last 

corresponding period. This was conditional 

on “no further changes in the 

economic outlook or customer commitments.” 

At the time of writing, Patrick is in 

the process of taking delivery of a further 

four ZPMC post-Panamax STS 

cranes for its Australian terminals. ZHEN 

HUA 21 arrived at Fremantle on 15 May 

to discharge one unit before sailing, 

depending on weather forecasts, either 

northabout or southabout, to Brisbane 

to unload a second. The two partlyerected 

cranes are destined for Melbourne, 

where they must pass beneath 

the West Gate Bridge to reach Patrick’s 

Swanson Dock facility. The 104.5m 

tall cranes have a 50m outreach and a 

backreach of 18m. The Fremantle and 

Brisbane cranes are expected to be operational 

by late June, with Melbourne’s 

up-and-running in August. 

Queensland ports now for sale … 

The Queensland Government is likely 

to privatise the ports of Townsville 

and Gladstone after an audit of the state’s 

finances recommended asset sales as a 

key contributor to regaining a AAA 

credit rating. 

The Queensland Commission of 

Audit (QCA), undertaken by former 

federal treasurer Peter Costello, argued 

that public ownership of GOCs (government-owned 

corporations) is not 

necessary once these businesses are “established 

and mature.” It also said GOCs 

represent “commercial risks” to government, 

given the “entrenched public service 

culture that lacks the flexibility required 

to compete in the private sector.” 

The report’s executive summary - 

all that was initially released for public 

scrutiny - focused on the possible sale 

of government-owned energy assets, 

but included funds management (the 

Queensland Investment Corporation), 

public transport (Queensland Rail Limited) 

- and ports. 

These comprised a list of businesses 

Western Australia’s government has 

hinted it will follow its New South 

Wales and Queensland counterparts 

in “transferring” some port assets to 

the private sector, in a quest for 

increased efficiencies, but does not 

want to lose the returns they generate 

for taxpayers. 

Addressing a Perth conference at 

which the government released its Regional 

Freight Network Strategy, treasurer 

Troy Buswell revealed that some 

of WA’s eight port authorities were already 

looking at the possibilities, but 

he denied the process could be described 

as privatisation. 

Quoted in local media, Buswell said 

he had a strong view on the need to 

“capable of being owned and managed 

efficiently by the private sector” where 

there is no need for government to tie 

up scarce capital nor be required to provide 

additional capital to support ongoing 

viability. 

No GOC ports were identified in the 

executive summary, but in the QCA’s 

interim report, released late last year, 

the following were named: Far North 

Queensland Ports Corp, North Queensland 

Bulk Ports Corp, Port of Townsville 

Limited and Gladstone Ports Corp. 

Although FNQPC was subsequently 

ruled out, and NQBPC excluded because 

parts of its portfolio are already 

privatised (eg Abbot Point Coal Terminal), 

the government was less than definitive 

about Townsville and Gladstone. 

In response to vociferous local opposition, 

state treasurer Tim Nicholls 

refused to rule out privatisation, but premier 

Campbell Newman told a Gladstone 

function his “personal view” was 

that ports should remain in public hands: 

“I have a very firm view that ports are 

…and West Oz too 

generate returns for taxpayers: “I did 

some sums the other day and over the 

last 10 years the ports and by extension, 

their users, have very generously 

through tax and dividend payments 

contributed A$400M to state finances. 

This year I expect our ports will generate 

A$170M profit.” 

As previously reported, WA’s port 

amalgamation plan, which will see 

seven existing authorities (other than 

Fremantle) merged into four, is due to 

take effect from 1 July. Boswell said that 

as part of the reform package external 

financial advisers had started working 

with port authorities “to help gauge the 

value of the assets and the rate of return 

required.” 

a vital part of the mix for any government 

in how you get economic outcomes. 

Once you sell them off, you have 

no policy control over them,” Newman 

said. However, he went on to stress that 

this was his personal position and that 

the government could decide otherwise 

- which it did. 

Releasing the full QCA report at the 

end of April, the government announced 

it would adopt most recommendations, 

including the effective privatisation of 

the two ports - not, technically, via a sale 

but through the offer off 99-year leases 

(as has already occurred with Brisbane 

and recently, in NSW, with Port Kembla 

and Port Botany). 

In Townsville a Pricewaterhouse- 

Coopers business survey found 66% opposed 

any port sell-off while Gladstone’s 

mayor said “We are devastated this asset 

will be lost to the community for 

generations to come.” The Queensland 

Government has stated no sale will occur 

ahead of the next state election, due 

in 2015. 

He cited commodity trader Bunge’s 

recent development of grain-handling 

infrastructure at Bunbury, making 

alternative use of the port’s woodchip 

loader, as an example of a “new and 

innovative partnership with the 

private sector” that could result in 

the freeing-up of capital and greater 

efficiencies. 

“I know that some ports are looking 

at some of these forms of innovation. 

This is not in my view privatisation. It 

is effectively providing or transferring 

assets to the private sector within a state 

and port.” 

The RFNS found that significant 

public and private investment would 

be needed in all WA’s ports - including 

nine operating outside the port authority 

system - to meet a doubling of 

throughput to 1 Btpa by 2030. 

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May 2013 13

LoadPlate commissioned 

Finland’s Gulf of Bothnia Port of Raahe 

has completed the installation and commissioning 

of its automated 20ft and 40ft 

container loading system from Actiw 

LoadPlate. As previously reported, Actiw 

has supplied a Multi LoadPlate loading 

system system, similar to one previously 

supplied to the Port of Kotka. 

Four containers can be loaded in “one 

shot” one after another with the Load- 

Plate unit on a single track, enabling more 

loads to be stored and more containers 

to be simultaneously dispatched. Empty 

container imports and loaded container 

exports can be handled more efficiently 

than before. 

The LoadPlate system is designed for 

the loading of timber, steel products, awk- 

ard loads and generally long and heavy 

items, although of course the platform 

can also be loaded by FLTs on each or 

one side with pallets, paper rolls, etc. In 

the Raahe installation, the entire container 

load is placed on the plastic loading 

plate in one go with a bridge crane. The 

plate with the load slides into a container, 

the load is held inside while the loading 

plate is pulled out, and the container is 

ready to leave. Loading a container takes 

less than five minutes. 

A key customer is Ruukki Metals, 

which is shipping structural steel girders, 

plate, pipes and profiles for commercial 

and industrial applications. “With 

LoadPlate we have been able to reduce 

lift truck and work force resources in 

The Actiw Multi LoadPlate handling a Ruukki steel shipment (Photo: Port of Raahe) 

container stuffing,” said Harri Tuomela, 

Ruukki’s logistics and delivery manager. 

“We are now able to stuff steel 

products into containers more easily, 

more safely, and more gentl and also 

take them off containers more easily. 

“LoadPlate gives us better possibilities 

and we can carry out all container 

stuffing under cover. This way, we can 

trust that our steel products remain dry 

PORT NEWS 

and clean in the containers when leaving 

Raahe.” As previously reported, the 

terminal measures 132m x 45m (ca. 6000 

m 2 ) and is equipped with a number of automated 

doors. 

Actiw’s managing director Reijo Viinonen 

made the point that extra savings 

are made in freight costs because open top 

containers are no longer needed to load 

long loads from overhead, while safety is 

increased and the risk of cargo damage is 

reduced. No modifications to the inside of 

standard containers or trailers are required. 

Port director Kaarlo Heikkinen said: 

“Our services will notably improve overseas 

transports, which gives the Port of 

Raahe a significant competitive position 

in the Bay of Bothnia area.” Raahe is connected 

with regular feeder and shortsea 

services to Hamburg, Bremerhaven and 

Antwerp for onward transhipment all 

over the world as required, as well as to 

Vejle, Hull, Ravenna and Szczecin. The 

port has a new 10m deep fairway and 

quay and has good motorway and rail 

connections. The railway is electrified 

and the port says that rail traffic to Russia 

functions well, particularly via Kostomuksha 

to the Kola Peninsula. 

14 

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MD_june 2013.indd 1 2013-06-11 13:01 

SCT to invest 

Mexico’s transport and communications 

authority, Secretaria de Comunicaciones 

y Transportes (SCT) is planning to invest 

PES5.5B (US$454M) in ports in Tamaulipas 

state over the next three years. The 

plan will be fully co-ordinated with the 

state government and private companies 

will also be encouraged to invest. 

Altamira, Tampico and Matamoros will 

all benefit from the Government’s capital 

expenditure programme, which includes 

a mix of channel improvement, infrastructure 

upgrade and terminal modernisation 

work. 

Under the investment plan, around 

PES1.5B is being allocated to the country’s 

most north easterly located port of 

Matamoros, which is on the border with 

the US. It is also close to the country’s 

burgeoning oil and gas exploration industries 

in the Gulf of Mexico and the 

port is seen as having a support role for 

these as well as serving the city which 

has a population of just under 500,000 

people. Most of the investment will be 

targeted at extending the port’s two 

breakwaters by at least 2.5km each so 

that full operations at the port can commence 

in 2015. 

In Tampico, the main focus is on expanding 

the port’s Terminal de Usos 

Multiples which handles mainly breakbulk, 

project cargo and some containers. 

It currently handles about 6 Mtpa of 

cargo, a volume SCT would like to see 

rise to 9 Mtpa by 2016. 

At Altamira, the largest container port 

in Tamaulipas, SCT’s main goal is to improve 

the port’s connectivity and ability 

to handle larger ships. Consequently, the 

main navigational channel and cargo 

berths will be dredged, new access roads 

constructed, including an underpass, and 

the port’s railway reconfigured. The latter 

step will increase the port’s intermodal 

capacity and streamline cargo movements 

between the container yard and 

rail depot. This should allow Altamira 

to become more competitive in serving 

inland locations, including Mexico City 

and Guadalajara. 

Commenting on the state investment 

at the port, Guillermo Ruiz de 

Teresa, general coordinator of ports and 

merchant marine at SCT, stressed that it 

was a vital part in developing the area 

and exploiting business opportunities 

in the region. He also highlighted the 

holistic nature of its plan, with SCT 

issuing a statement that said: “Our 

objective is focused on developing a 

comprehensive port system between 

Matamoros, Tampico and Altamira, with 

piers in the Gulf of Mexico looking 

to avoid competition and rather complementing 

each other.” In 1Q/2013, 

Altamira handled 140,027 TEU, up 

0.8% on the corresponding period of 

2012. This followed a 6% rise in its box 

throughput to 578, 685 TEU last year. In 

contrast, Tampico’s first quarter container 

traffic volumes plummeted by 62% to 

just 53 TEU. 

May 2013

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NEWS PORT NEWS 

PBLIS stays in NSW 

The New South Wales Government 

has vowed to continue its 

Port Botany Landside Improvement 

Strategy (PBLIS), despite 

the recent A$5.07B lease of 

Port Botany (and Port Kembla) 

to the NSW Ports consortium. 

“PBLIS, which drives more efficient 

coordination of road and 

rail freight in and out of Port 

Botany, is now set to continue 

its future successful program of 

works through Transport for 

New South Wales,” said treasurer 

Mike Baird. 

Introduced by Sydney Ports 

Corporation, PBLIS is acknowledged 

as instrumental 

in improving freight efficiency 

Lübeck Ruhr rail service 

in and around the Port Botany 

precinct, delivering 30% faster 

truck-turnaround times and 

“benefitting industry and customers 

tens of millions each 

year in cost savings including 

increased equipment utilisation 

and reduced demurrage costs.” 

Prior to its implementation, 

PBLIS was expected to deliver 

in its first 10 years a Net Present 

Value (NPV) benefit to NSW 

and industry of A$21.2M. After 

an independent review in 2012 

of its first year of operation, the 

PBLIS NPV increased by over 

A$33M to A$54.7M. 

The on-time performance of 

trucks arriving at Port Botany 

Lübecker Hafen Gesellshaft 

(LHG), the operator of the Port 

of Lübeck, has introduced its 

own intermodal block train service, 

catering for shipping containers, 

swap bodies and semitrailers, 

to the heart of the Ruhr. 

The service will operate between 

Duisburg-Hohenbudberg 

and Baltic Rail Gate (BGT) at 

Lübeck-Travemünde. BGT was 

originally built by HHLA along 

with a dedicated lo-lo feeder 

terminal to offer customers an 

alternative to the Kiel Canal for 

feedering into the Baltic. 

The new service is aimed at strengthening Lübeck’s position on the Sweden- 

Ruhr axis 

has also increased from 72% before 

PBLIS to 93% in March 

2013, the government claims. It 

also says the PBLIS rail strategy 

to grow rail mode share is gaining 

solid momentum through 

voluntary participation in the 

Port Botany Rail Team by industry. 

“PBLIS has been instrumental 

in both supporting smarter road 

freight movements and working 

with the rail operators and 

network providers to improve 

freight coordination in the port 

rail supply chain,” the government 

said. We look forward to 

this work continuing through 

Transport for New South Wales 

and building on the program’s 

successes more widely in the 

NSW freight network.” 

The new block train, which is 

aimed at strengthening Lübeck’s 

position in Sweden-Ruhr trades, 

is operated by LHG affiliate European 

Cargo Logistics (ECL), 

whose managing director Jörg 

Ulrich remarked: “With this new 

rail connection we can offer our 

customers another alternative for 

environment friendly and efficient 

transport via Lübeck. On 

this route, a load of 26 tons produces 

426.7 kgs of CO 2 

by truck 

and only 128.1 kgs by rail. This 

is a reduction of 70%.” Tobias 

Behnke, ECL’s intermodal service 

manager, added that the company 

hopes to increase frequency 

to two pairs/day in due course. 

ECL already operates a service 

between Lübeck and Verona, on a 

five pairs/week basis, in cooperation 

with DHL. The rail traction 

contractor on this route is ERS 

Railways. 

PNG push against Patrick 

Attempts by the PNG Ports 

Corporation Ltd (PNGPCL) to 

introduce new foreign competition 

into Papua New Guinea’s 

stevedoring sector have been 

sharply rebuffed by local tribes 

invested in existing companies. 

In March PNGPCL advertised 

widely, seeking expressions of 

interest from “experienced and 

qualified operators” interested in 

stevedoring access agreements in 

the nation’s two main container 

ports, Lae and Port Moresby. 

PNGPCL said its volumes had 

increased by 28% over the past 

five years and it had invested in 

four MHCs for the two ports, 

which it needed to ensure “full 

and proper use” through stevedoring 

operations conducted in 

a modern and efficient manner 

“which optimises the benefits to 

all port users.” Amongst respondents 

is believed to have been 

Asciano’s Patrick, which was reported 

to have been in joint venture 

negotiations with a breakaway 

group of shareholders from 

Lae stevedore Riback. 

Tribal leaders of the Ahi people 

of six villages who claim traditional 

ownership of Lae city 

took large advertisements in the 

PNG press in late April threatening 

to close the port down. They 

claimed interests associated with 

the governing People’s National 

Congress Party were manoeuvring, 

under the cover of the Lae 

port modernisation project, to 

push the Ahi-owned Riback Stevedores 

Ltd out of the port. 

The six leaders said via press 

release that the Ahi were proud 

shareholders and beneficiaries of 

the investment in the nationallyowned 

Riback, which in Lae 

provides jobs and opportunities 

View over Port Moresby. The main dispute centres on Lae 

for many previously unemployed 

youths. 

However, “certain people with 

vested interest” were now actively 

working to displace landowner 

involvement at the Lae port, the 

advertisements stated. 

The Ahi claimed the new 

group, led by a local PNG branch 

president and former Riback 

company director, in a joint venture 

with some village splinter 

interests, was establishing a fourth 

stevedoring company that was 

seeking preferential treatment. 

“Why give this company preferential 

treatment over longestablished 

Papua New Guinean 

majority-owned companies” 

the leaders asked. “These people 

are engaged in a divide-and-rule 

tactic to divide our people so 

they can move in and set up their 

own joint venture with foreign 

interests.” 

The Ahi group threatened to 

close the port of Lae if the government 

did not respond - and 

duly did so for 48 hours in early 

May. This brought a quick response 

from Ben Micah, minister 

for ports, public enterprises and 

state investment, who suspended 

the EOI process, pending the appointment 

of a “special investigation” 

by an independent party 

into the allegations made by 

the Ahi. Patrick has declined to 

comment on the situation. 

Riback has a number of major 

clients, including ANL, Maersk, 

Sofrana, Carpenters and Kyowa 

and as well as stevedoring it operates 

a depot on the site of the 

old Lae airport. The other Lae 

stevedores are Lae Port Services, 

a joint venture between local 

interests and Steamships (Swire) 

and United Stevedoring, which 

is a Consort Express Lines (also 

Swire-controlled) affiliate. 

As previously reported, last 

November Mitsui & Co Ltd’s 

affiliate Portek International 

signed an agreement with PNG- 

PCL to collaborate with it in the 

operation of the Lae and Port 

Moresby container terminals for 

a 5-year period. 

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May 2013 17

It's tough for DPW Australia 

DP World Australia, 75% owned by investors represented 

by Citi Infrastructure, made a loss of A$32M 

in 2012 according to accounts filed with the Australian 

Securities and Investment Corporation. The 

result - a significant improvement over calendar 

2011’s A$74M loss - came largely thanks to a oneoff 

gain of almost A$47M from the enforced sale of a 

controlling stake in the Adelaide container terminal 

to Flinders Ports (WorldCargo News, July 2012, p7). 

Despite the sale, revenue from DPWA’s operations, 

including its remaining container terminals in 

Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle, rose 

by 15% to A$592M. 

The losses seem at odds with annual Australian 

Competition and Consumer Commission stevedoring 

monitoring reports, which have attacked 

DP World and rival, Asciano’s Patrick, for ‘excessive’ 

profitability. The ACCC’s drive against high returns 

and for greater competition has encouraged the entry 

into the Australian market of Hutchison Port 

Holdings, although critics doubt the market’s ability 

to support three stevedores. 

DPWA is investing A$250M on part-automating 

its Brisbane terminal and has flagged similar changes 

for Port Botany, but has announced no plans 

for Melbourne or Fremantle. As far as is know the 

company has only one new STS crane on order, a 

Liebherr post-panamax unit for Melbourne’s West 

Swanson Dock. This is despite an accelerating rush 

Dar es Salaam 

‘must improve’ 

The latest Tanzania Economic Update published by 

the World Bank has called for productivity and efficiency 

improvements at the port of Dar es Salaam as 

key to transforming the nation’s economy and that 

of the surrounding region of East and central Africa. 

According to Jacques Morisset, the World Bank’s 

lead economist for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, 

Dar es Salaam handles 90% of Tanzania’s import and 

export trade and is the main access point for Burundi, 

eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, 

Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, but in 2012 its 

inefficiencies resulted in total global welfare losses 

valued at US$ 1.8B in Tanzania and US$830M for 

the neighbouring countries. 

“These losses were equivalent to approximately 

7% of Tanzania’s annual GDP, and affected a wide 

range of local consumers, businesses and government 

agencies,” wrote Morisset, who authored the 

report, “and they cost Tanzanians and other East Africans 

dearly, as they must pay more for imported 

goods, including basic products such as crude oil, 

cement, fertilizers and medicines.” 

The report: “Opening the Gates: How the Port 

of Dar es Salaam Can Transform Tanzania,” said that 

long delays affecting ships arriving in Dar es Salaam 

were the main cause for the losses. The author 

wrote: “In mid-2012, ships were waiting up to 10 

days on average just to berth and an additional 10 

days to be able to unload and move their merchandise. 

The excessive delays in anchorage alone translated 

into an additional cost of 22% on container 

imports and about 5% of bulk imports.” 

The World Bank Tanzania Economic Update, 

which is published twice a year, also identified corruption 

as another key factor contributing to the 

port’s poor performance and generally low levels 

of efficiency. 

A ray of hope was highlighted in the report, with 

the author citing: “The appetite for reforms at Dar 

es Salaam has increased in recent months as citizens 

and city officials have gained greater clarity about 

what needs to be done to improve processes and 

upgrade infrastructures. Equally importantly, the 

Government has begun taking bold measures to 

implement reforms, including the firing of the Tanzania 

Port Authority Board on corruption charges 

in early 2013.” 

Given that the World Bank is projecting annualised 

growth in Tanzania’s economy of 7% per year 

for the foreseeable future, a working Dar es Salaam 

is critical to this growth and also to opening up the 

country and region to more international trade. 

Cargo delays blight Dar es Salaam port 

of post-panamax containerships into Australian 

trades as tonnage cascades from other routes. 

DPWA recently suspended Saturday landside operations 

at its Fremantle terminal after a four-month 

trial, meaning no weekend receivals-and-delivery 

(RAD) is now available at the facility. The stevedore 

said it would resume RAD if demand warranted, 

but its new ‘Expert Decking’ yard operation meant 

volumes could be capably handled Monday-Friday. 

Meanwhile, Hutchison Ports Australia has secured 

its first - albeit very modest - customer for 

its A$250M Brisbane Container Terminal. The 

AUSPAC consortium, comprising Neptune Pacific, 

Pacific Direct Line, Pacific Forum Line, Sofrana 

Unilines and Swire Shipping, will call with its two 

900 TEU vessels on a fortnightly basis. AUSPAC 

was previously a Patrick customer and remains with 

that stevedore in Port Botany and Melbourne. 

The government of Djibouti has revealed that it has 

already secured 57% of the funding required to finance 

its planned US$5.9B investment in new transport 

infrastructure. According to the chairman of the 

Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, Aboubaker 

Omar Hadi, the money has been promised by a variety 

of investors, including a Saudi Arabian investment 

fund and the government of China. In common 

with several other African states, the government of 

Djibouti aims to turn the country into a middle income 

country, in this case by 2035. 

Unlike other African countries, however, the plan 

is based almost entirely on the country’s position as 

a trade entrepôt. Located near the entrance to the 

Red Sea, the Port of Djibouti is already an important 

transhipment centre and acts as the main port 

for landlocked Ethiopia. The transport strategy involves 

increasing the annual handling capacity of DP 

PORT NEWS 

Djibouti targets master plan 

World-operated Doraleh Container Terminal, to 3M 

TEU by 2015 and developing five other specialist 

terminals. These include oil and liquefied natural gas 

terminals, plus a dedicated salt and gypsum terminal, 

to export production from Djibouti’s Lake Assal. 

In addition, Export-Import Bank of China has 

agreed to provide a US$3.3B loan to fund a new 723 

kms railway from the Port of Djibouti to Sebeta in 

central Ethiopia. The railway line itself will be developed 

by China Railway Engineering Corporation 

and China Civil Engineering Corporation. 

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Djibouti minister for 

foreign affairs and international cooperation, said: 

“Djibouti is considered a gateway to Ethiopia, a very 

big market. We are even targeting other markets that 

include Southern Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and parts 

of Uganda. Our ambition is really to open up our 

markets to those countries that are landlocked.” 

Hosting TOC Container Supply Chain: Americas 

18 

May 2013

PORT/INLAND/INTERMODAL NEWS 

Forth Ports sees the light 

UK port operator Forth Ports plc is continuing 

with its transition to low energy lighting. It has 

installed LED fixtures in a bulk storage shed at its 

Leith facility, where it had earlier installed LEDs in 

the engineering workshop and cruise terminal. 

Shed 3 at Leith was previously lit with 13 x 

400W SON fixtures that were inadequate even 

with daylight coming through skylights. The shed is 

used for bulk food commodities and heat from the 

fixtures burned dust onto the polycarbonate lenses, 

reducing their output considerably. 

Forth Ports replaced the lights with 8 x 172W 

LED fixtures from Dialight’s DuroSite series. It is 

extremely happy with the quality of the light from 

the Dialight fixtures, particularly their improved 

colour rendition. Dr Derek McGlashan, environment 

and energy manager at Forth Ports, said that 

so far the company has taken two different approaches 

to energy efficient lighting for warehouses: 

LEDs at Leith and new generation fluorescent 

fixtures in Tilbury. “Both have been received positively,” 

he added. 

One of the biggest benefits for Forth Ports is the 

reduced maintenance requirement. The SON lights 

needed regular attention, which was a problem as 

maintenance could only be carried when the shed 

became empty, which might take up to a year. Forth 

Ports now expects regular maintenance to have been 

eliminated, and Dialight has supplied the DuroSite 

series fixtures with a 5-year performance warranty. 

With regard to energy usage, Forth Ports estimates 

it will achieve a 60-75% energy saving from 

LEDs. The 13 x 400W SON fixtures were actually 

drawing around 440W each compared to 172W 

Come and Visit us 1-3 October 2013 

each for eight new LED fixtures. In terms of CO 2 

emissions from energy consumption, Forth Ports 

calculates a reduction of 0.4 tpa per light. Further 

savings could be achieved by taking advantage of 

LED’s instant on capability to install motion and 

daylight sensors to control the lights. 

Dr McGlashan is encouraged by the performance 

of LEDs so far. Forth Ports has also installed 

Dialight LEDs on some 14m high mast poles at 

Leith and, although they have not been tested in 

winter conditions, results so far have been positive. 

It will also be testing bigger 25,000 lumen Dialight 

fittings on higher (25m) poles shortly. 

Forth Ports has launched a new website (www. 

forthports.co.uk), which it said “takes customers 

on a journey” through its diverse services 

and the recent significant investments at 

its ports. Group CEO Charles Hammond said: 

“It is important to tell the whole story of Forth 

Ports and demonstrate the portcentric solutions we 

can provide across the UK.” 

Iran plans 

big in rail 

Iran is planning to increase the length of its domestic 

rail network from 11,000 kms today to 15,000 

kms by 2015 and 25,000 kms by 2025. To date the 

Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR) has, according 

to its managing director Abdol-Ali Saheb- 

Mohammadi, had an average potential to build just 

500 kms of railways per annum. 

Last year IRIR signed a €1B memorandum of 

understanding with the National Development 

Fund and the Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry to 

expand the nation’s rail infrastructure. Also last year 

a production facility for manufacturing 120 locomotives/year 

was opened in the northern Alborz 

province. 

As most land transportation in the country is 

road-based, the Iranian government is keen to build 

momentum in developing the railway, with a special 

emphasis on electrification. The goal is to increase 

rail’s modal share of inland freight to 8.5% and ensure 

that all this large country’s provinces are linked 

by rail. 

The country needs at least US$2B each year to 

implement its infrastructure development projects, 

around half the necessary financing is covered 

through selling bonds, Iranian deputy roads and 

urban development minister Ahmad Sadeqi said 

recently. 

Despite political problems with much of the West, 

Iran has so far raised almost US$0.6B this year. In 

2012, it carried out 23 out of the 54 railway, freeway 

and highway projects for a total of US$2.4B using 

revenues earned from selling bonds. 

Internationally, Iran has, since 2007, been partaking 

in the building of the 904 km long Ozen-Gorgan 

railway along the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore. 

This is expected to open during the second half of 

this year, to connect Kazakhstan with Iran via a 700 

km stretch through Turkmenistan. With the completion 

of the project, trade turnover between the 

countries could, in the opinion of Iran’s ambassador 

in Astana, Gorban Seifi, go from US$1.2B last year 

up to US$5B, while the capacity of the line could 

reach 10 Mtpa. 

Since 2011, the project has been part of the 

planned Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran- Oman- 

Qatar international transit route opening access to 

both Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Last year, 

Iran reached an agreement with Afghanistan and 

Tajikistan to build motor roads and a 392 km railway 

to link the three countries, as well as eventually 

connect them with Kyrgyzstan and Western China. 

Rhenus goes 

for Krems 

Rhenus Group is set to become the majority owner of 

Mierka Donauhafen Krems 

At PortMiami, we’re investing more than $2 billion in capital 

improvements—a deeper, minus 50-foot channel, a new port tunnel 

for easy interstate access and on-port rail with links to the 

national railway system. Quicker connections, better for business. 

For more information, visit www.miamidade.gov/portmiami 

Rhenus Group is set to increase its stake in Mierka 

Beteilungs GmbH (MBG), the 100% owner of 

Austrian Danube port opertor Mierka Donauhafen 

Krems GmbH (MDK) from 26%, which it acquired 

in summer 2010, to 51%. The deal is being conducted 

via a capital increase in MBG and is subject 

to regulatory approvals. 

According to an official statement, Rhenus and 

Hubert Mierka, managing owner of the port of 

Krems, aim to increase operating efficiency and 

carry out new investments. “The new funds will 

enable us to invest in our Danube Mission,” said 

Hubert Mierka, “including our involvement in 

Rhenus Mierka Danube Shipping established in 

2012.” MDK covers a large storage and operations 

area and boasts an agri-products terminal with storage 

silos as well as bulk and container barge and rail 

terminals. 

Last October HHLA’s affiliate Metrans acquired 

from MDK the company that operates the trimodal 

container terminal in Krems. Since February this 

year three train pairs/week have linked the Austrian 

Danube port with Hamburg and Bremerhaven. 

May 2013 19

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Inspired Engineering

INLAND/INTERMODAL NEWS 

TE plans to build pan- 

Africa locomotive 

Kazakhstan, traditionally heavily dependent 

on engine and railcar imports, is 

set to produce freight rolling stock for its 

own and export markets. It is estimated 

Central Asia’s largest country needs up 

to 53,000 freight wagons by 2020 due to 

substantial write-downs and retirement 

of available railcars. 

Askar Mamin, president of Kazakhstan 

Temir Zholy (KTZ, Kazakhstan Railways) 

stated that the government has 

Pretoria (South Africa)-based Transnet 

Engineering (TE), an operating unit of 

state-controlled rail freight, ports and 

pipelines group Transnet, is hoping that 

a new locomotive it is designing will 

boost its sales across the African subcontinent 

and in South America. It is 

understood that the company has been 

working on a prototype of the locomotive 

for more than two years and that it 

should be ready early in 2014. 

TE has been building up its design 

expertise with the project since being 

commissioned by Chicago-headquartered 

General Electric to manufacture 

more than 140 locomotives for which 

it had received orders from TE’s sister 

company Trans Freight Rail. The new 

locomotive features a design that enables 

it to use a propulsion system different 

from normal practice, where traction 

motors are fitted underneath the engine 

and attached to each axle. 

According to Richard Vallihu, CEO 

of TE, the locomotive is “better able 

to withstand the jarring and bumping 

that comes from travelling over uneven 

railway lines.” In Africa many rail tracks 

are in poor condition and funds are extremely 

limited to upgrade them. At the 

same time the demand for rail services is 

increasing as exports of bulk commodities 

rise along with the need to use alternatives 

to roads, which are also in poor 

condition, as imports for landlocked Africa 

are also increasing. 

Thoba Majoka, general manager of 

strategy and marketing at TE, added: 

“For African rail conditions, you need 

something that is rugged and strong. We 

will use a hydro-dynamic box system 

manufactured by German engineering 

and technology firm Voith to provide 

the hauling power.” 

As part of Transnet’s seven-year strategic 

plan, TE has been tasked with generating 

additional revenues from sales 

outside of South Africa with ZAR6B 

the target figure by 2019. This compares 

with current sales of around ZAR865M 

and the pan-African locomotive is one 

of the projects designed to help achieve 

this fiscal goal. TE is also looking beyond 

Africa and sees opportunities for its 

planned locomotive and also its rolling 

stock modules on narrow gauge rail systems 

elsewhere in the world, particularly 

in Chile and Colombia. 

settled on a plan to reduce the country’s 

dependence on rolling stock imports 

and develop its own production facilities, 

not least because traditional sources 

(mainly Russia) are concentrating on 

their own networks. 

Last year 1978 wagons were built in 

Kazakhstan, and of those 85% were produced 

by the Kazakhstan Car Manufacturing 

Company (KVK). This plant was 

set up in 2008 on the basis of wagon 

ADIF’s Murcia award 

Spain’s rail track authority, ADIF, has 

awarded a concession to operate a freight 

terminal in Murcia to a joint venture 

consisting of MacAndrews, the CMA- 

CGM affiliate specialising in short sea 

shipping, and Spain’s Continental Rail. 

The contract is for five years. 

A second contract, also for five years, 

covering the Rail Logistics Centre at 

Badajoz, was declared deserted. Three 

other freight yards are to be put out 

to tender, these being Granollers (four 

years), Zaragoza-Plaza (five years) and 

Mérida (five years). For these latter three, 

a new type of contract involving more 

risk and reward is to be offered. 

Since Gonzalo Ferre was appointed 

as the new president of ADIF (Administrador 

de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias) 

in January this year, the organisation has 

Continental Rail SA is one of Spain’s new competitors to RENFE 

Kazakhstan to export rolling stock 

repair workshops, when rolling stock 

depreciation reached 70%. 

Astana has also managed to create 

conditions for global industry leaders 

such as General Electric and Talgo to localise 

production in Kazakhstan, and last 

December France’s Alstom and Russia’s 

TransMashHolding (TMH) launched 

production of freight (KZ8A) and passenger 

(KZ4AT) locomotives in Astana, 

with the aim of producing up to 100 

tried to adopt a more flexible approach 

to concessions, to attract a wider range 

of bidders on the basis of different business 

models for them to pursue according 

to preference. 

Progeco Vigo SA has requested an 8000 

m 2 area on the Arenal del Puerto quay at 

the north-western Spanish port of Vigo 

to build a terminal to handle containers 

and other cargo. Progeco Vigo was set 

up in 1994 and operates a CFS in the 

port, and it also provides project cargo 

lashing services, second-hand container 

sales and related services. Vigo is “back 

on the agenda” for a second “motorway 

of the sea” link with France. Spanish and 

French officials are working on a tender 

for a Montoir (St Nazaire)-Vigo link. 

Currently Louis Dreyfus Armateurs operates 

a Montoir-Gijón link. 

units of each type per annum by 2015. 

The 50M project is aimed at covering 

the domestic market (up to 200 freight 

and 95 passenger locomotives a year) 

and exporting the balance. 

Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan 

Nazarbayev has declared his country’s 

preparedness to be able to supply the 

other Tax Union markets (Russia and 

Belarus) with Kazakhstan-made locomotives. 

Taking into account more sophisticated 

technologies and lower costs 

of local production, Kazakh engines 

could provide lively competition for 

their Russian-made peers. 

CEVA into 

Eurasian 

landbridge 

CEVA Logistics recently announced the 

launch of a new daily China-Europe 

intermodal rail service, connecting Suzhou, 

located west of Shanghai, with the 

Netherlands. Total transit time for the 

whole journey is around 28 days, following 

an 11,000 kms northerly route 

across Russia. 

This new routing follows a successful 

trial service that CEVA conducted for a 

customer in the technology sector during 

a traditional “busy time” for China’s 

rail net. CEVA says it brought significant 

cost savings to the customer compared 

to air freight, along with a shorter transit 

time of 13-15 days compared to sea 

freight. This is the classic “sell” for the 

Trans-Siberian landbridge. The service 

is more expensive than sea freight, but 

door-to-door transit time is much shorter; 

air freight is the quickest but is too 

expensive. 

In the trial shipment, the container 

travelled across Russia at temperatures as 

low as -38 degC. CEVA provided GPS 

tracking and “visibility” throughout the 

journey, along with specially insulated 

packaging materials to protect the shipment. 

Suitable packaging will be provided 

to keep products cool in hot summer 

temperatures. 

Martin Thaysen, CEVA Logistics’ 

EVP, China said: “This new service provides 

more options for customers to 

optimise their supply chain by integrating 

different transportation modes. It is 

a good example of where we combine 

our experience of China’s domestic network 

with our international freight solutions 

to support our customers’ supply 

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May 2013 21

SHIPPING NEWS 

Rubber exports banned 

The government of Liberia has banned 

the export of unprocessed rubber and 

intends to introduce new regulatory legislation 

due to corruption, theft, illegal 

sales and illicit tapping. President Ellen 

Johnson-Sirleaf also wants a greater proportion 

of Liberian rubber production to 

be processed within the country. 

Rubber is Liberia’s biggest source of 

employment and most valuable export, 

accounting for 40% of export revenues, 

though there is some uncertainty over 

how much is exported in its raw state. 

Firestone Natural Rubber Company operates 

the world’s biggest rubber plantation 

in Liberia under a 100-year concession 

that runs out in 2025. 

Most lawful production is shipped 

from the Port of Monrovia and it is likely 

that most illegal production also passes 

through the port. A source in Monrovia 

revealed that a new inspection regime 

may benefit from EU funding. An EU 

mission visited the port in May to identify 

improvements that EU member states 

could help finance. 

Construction work on Monrovia 

container terminal is already being undertaken 

as part of APM Terminals’ new 

concession. According to Matilda Parker, 

managing director of the National Port 

Authority (NPA), the ports of Monrovia 

and Buchanan have been awarded international 

security clearance. The NPA is hoping 

to achieve clearance for the country’s 

other two ports, Greenville and Harper. 

New Russian ship type 

Russia’s Nevsky Shipbuilding and 

Shiprepair plant in Shlisselburg, in 

Leningrad region, has built a new type 

of fluvio-maritime bulk carrier in 

the fashion of the former Volga Don 

river-sea vessels. NEVA LEADER 3 was 

built for North-Western Shipping 

Company (SZMP) and is a self-propelled 

7150dwt bulker, which at the 

time of writing is undergoing sea trials. 

The vessel is the result of project 

“RSD 49” undertaken by the Marine 

Engineering and Design Bureau in 

Saint Petersburg. It is understood that 

up to 12 more RSD 49 vessels may be 

ordered from SZMP-owned Nevsky 

Shipyard, mainly to carry bulk commodities 

such as grain, iron and steel, 

timber, coal, and project cargoes. The 

areas of operations are the Caspian Sea, 

White Sea and North Sea and, during 

the Russian winter, intra-Mediterranean 

and Irish Sea trades. 

The vessel has a length overall of 

139.95m and a 16.7m beam. River 

draft is 4.7m and sea draft is 3.6m. 

Cargo hold capacity is 10,920 m 3 and 

the midships hold can accept oversized 

cargo pieces up to 52m long. The vessels 

are classed by the Russian Maritime 

Register of Shipping and can carry 

IMDG classes 1.45, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8 and 9. 

Owned by Russian transport and 

logistics service group UCL Holding, 

SZMP is Russia’s largest shipping company 

with a fleet of 105 cargo vessels. 

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Cargo 

Systems 

Lines link up 

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) of Japan and 

Singapore-based Pacific International 

Lines (PIL) have inked a series of agreements 

on the small, but expanding trade 

lanes connecting South East Asia with 

the Indian Ocean islands and Mozambique. 

The deals will mean more effective 

use of existing ships, better alignment 

of slot capacity to demand and 

improved service reliability. 

A mix of local and deepsea feeder 

cargo is moved on both routes and with 

Singapore offering hub opportunities, 

MOL and PIL can seamlessly plug the 

Indian Ocean and Mozambique into 

their global networks. 

The revised fixed day of the week Indian 

Ocean service uses 4x 1100 TEU 

vessels, with each partner contributing 

two ships. For its part, PIL has stopped 

its separately scheduled IOL service. 

The new link features direct calls at 

Singapore, Port Louis, Tamatave, Reunion 

and return to Singapore. The Mozambique 

operation is based on PIL’s 

new MZS service, which links Singapore 

with Maputo, Beira and Nacala using 

seven ships. MOL buys space on the 

operation and, consequently, has halted 

its former Mozambique Zuid Africa IOI 

Service (MZX). 

Hutchison’s 

Bulldog 

spirit 

John Meredith, group managing director 

of Hong Kong headquartered 

Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), claims 

he is determined to help the UK’s small 

and medium sized businesses (SMEs) 

increase their exports and develop new 

markets overseas. 

To do this he has launched “Project 

Bulldog,” effectively an export assistance 

programme. Through the initiative, Meredith 

has promised to share the expertise 

he has gained in running an international 

ports business for more than 40 years 

and to provide advice to SMEs in areas 

such as the law, tax/fiscal policies, education, 

shipping practices and customs. 

The HPH executive said that he had 

launched his initiative largely out of 

frustration after seeing Britain decline 

as a world manufacturer and exporter 

over the years. At the launch of “Project 

Bulldog,” he mentioned the strange response 

he received to lectures he was 

asked to give on export opportunities to 

Asia by the UK Government’s Trade & 

Investment (UK T&I) agency last year. 

“Most of the people who came forward 

afterwards were security people, software 

houses, lawyers and/or consultants,” he 

said. “There were not many people who 

were actually making things.” 

This year the UK T&I had asked him 

to give similar presentations, but with 

the focus on opportunities in Latin 

America, and he felt a change was also 

needed with the emphasis on manufactured 

exports. 

In running a company that operates 

the container ports of Felixstowe and 

Harwich in the UK, he said this situation 

was mirrored in the “stuff that is moving 

out…The containers are mainly empty 

or carrying scrap, but no products and I 

get irritated by this. Britain needs to focus 

on manufacturing, including offering tax 

breaks and cheaper energy for exporters, 

or it risks getting left behind [further] 

by other more innovative nations.” 

Meredith stressed: “You can’t rely on 

North Sea oil and gas and the City of 

London. We [as a country] have to go 

back to basics and start making stuff.” 

He suggested that in many places British 

products were valued, hence many opportunities 

existed. 

HPH is a global ports operator running 

52 ports in 26 countries and handling 

76.8M TEU in 2012, up 2.3% on 

the previous year. Meredith has worked 

at the company for 42 years, taking it 

from its roots in Hong Kong to the multi-billion 

corporation it is today. 

22 

May 2013

Please visit us at 

TOC Europe 2013 

Rotterdam, June 25-27 

Stand No. E66 

CORPORATE PROCUREMENT 

Framework for the Supply of Fork Lift Trucks for Port Usage 

Sunderland City Council is seeking expressions of interest from suppliers wishing to 

be considered for the Framework for the Supply of Fork Lift Trucks for Port Usage for 

a period of 48 months commencing 4 October 2013. 

This tender includes: 

• Contract Hire (with maintenance) of small to medium Fork Lift Trucks 

(3 to 10 tonne) 

• Contract Hire (with maintenance) of large Fork Lift Trucks 


• Purchase (with maintenance) of small to medium Fork Lift Trucks 


• Purchase (with maintenance) of large Fork Lift Trucks 


This is an electronic tender via the Council’s ProContract eTender system. 

All organisations interested in this tender should register an expression of interest 

against this Framework online at ‘www.nepoportal.org’, Tender Reference 

QTLE-98ECTM. All tender documents are available to download via this portal. 

The Council will be using the Restricted Procurement Procedure and completed 

Pre Qualifi cation Questionnaires (PQQs) must be returned via the portal by 12 noon 

on 8 July 2013, in accordance with the instructions in the documents. 

As part of the tender process Sunderland City Council intend to hold a supplier 

briefi ng session on 18 June 2013 at The Port of Sunderland, Capstan House, 

Greenwells Quay, South Docks, Barrett Street, Sunderland, SR1 2BU. Arrive 2.15pm 

for a 2.30pm start. The aim of the briefi ng is to provide advice on submitting a 

compliant Pre Qualifi cation Questionnaire, there will also be an opportunity to ask 

questions. You should confi rm your intention to attend this briefi ng direct to 

andrew.raft@sunderland.gov.uk no later than 12 midday on 17 June 2013. 

Please read the PQQ documents to ensure this is a suitable opportunity for you 

before registering to attend this briefi ng. 

Please note that the award of this framework is subject to approval from 

the Port Board. 

Dave Smith, Chief Executive 

Civic Centre, Burdon Road, 

Sunderland SR2 7DN

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SHIPPING NEWS 

Car companies work 

with Achilles on risk 

The past two years or so have been 

extremely challenging ones for global 

car manufacturers as a spate of largely 

natural disasters have affected their supply 

chains, halted the shipment of often 

critical components and disrupted production 

programmes. A combination 

of the additional costs and higher risks 

of reputational damage caused by such 

events has spurred several in the automotive 

industry into action. Recently 

Toyota Motor Europe and UK manufacturers 

Aston Martin and Land Rover 

Jaguar joined forces with Lord March, 

founder of the UK’s Goodwood Festival 

of Speed, and supply chain management 

company Achilles, to come up with a 

proactive system of sharing identifying 

and managing potential risks in their 

supply chain. 

The solution adopted comprises: 

• An online portal – this offers comprehensive 

and up-to-date information 

and allows the participants to identify 

and manage effectively potential health, 

safety, compliance, financial and corporate 

social responsibility risks within 

the system 

• Supply chain mapping – this component 

has been pioneered by Toyota and 

it allows users to assess which sites are 

potentially exposed to risks, such as 

natural disasters, fiscal issues, etc, and to 

mitigate against these. It also addresses 

potential logistics bottlenecks, such as 

at ports and reliance on single suppliers 

• Financial Analysis model – this essentially 

serves as a financial health check 

on suppliers. 

The supplier information management 

system adopted is hosted by Achilles, 

whose global business director, Luis 

Olivie, said: “The automotive sector is 

truly globalised and by working collaboratively 

these industry leaders are 

setting standards in gaining visibility of 

New pocket 

guide for 

bulk safety 

When bulk cargoes shift, liquefy, catch 

fire or explode as a consequence of poor 

loading procedures, the consequences 

can be massive. Ships may capsize, lose 

stability or sustain severe structural damage. 

Such happenings enhance the risks 

- and the occurrence - of death, injury, 

insurance claims, operational delay and 

considerable expense. 

This has prompted the UK P&I Club, 

Lloyd’s Register and Intercargo to produce 

a pocket guide and checklist for 

ships’ officers and agents who arrange 

cargoes for loading. Carrying solid bulk 

cargoes safely: Guidance for crews on the 

International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes 

Code outlines the precautions to be taken 

before accepting solid bulk cargoes 

for shipment; sets out procedures for 

safe loading and carriage; and details the 

primary hazards associated with different 

types of cargoes. A quick reference 

checklist and flowchart summarise the 

steps to be followed. 

The guide reflects the compliance requirements 

of the IMSBC Code, which 

became mandatory on January 1st 2011 

under the SOLAS Convention. It addresses 

the Code’s three key groups: A 

(which may liquefy), B (chemical hazards) 

and C (all others). Appendices 

cover IMO regulations and guidance 

relating to the transport of solid bulk 

cargoes and provide an overview of the 

IMSBC Code. It comes in a laminated 

flipover format for on-the-spot use and 

for enhancing awareness among operators, 

shippers and charterers. 

Lloyd’s Register and the UK P&I 

Club have produced a number of checklists 

to aid safety and regulation compliance. 

Subjects have included Port State 

Control detention, marine fire safety and 

the Maritime Labour Convention. 

issues which could affect people, planet 

and profit. 

“This technology will enable OEMs 

to map and understand their own supply 

chains right through the many tiers. It 

will allow them to see their interaction 

and dynamics and assess risks in a way 

that has never been done before. It works 

not only up and down in the shippers’ 

own supply chains, but across different 

companies to maximise benefits.” 

All parties are hoping their solution 

will be embraced across the whole industry. 

Samskip adds capacity 

Rotterdam-headquartered Samskip 

Multimodal, which is a leading provider 

of freight transport services in the intra- 

European market, has phased a much 

larger and faster ship into its liner service 

linking Rotterdam and Hull. 

Since mid-May, Samskip Multimodal 

has been deploying the 803 TEU capacity 

ship HENRIKE SCHEPERS on the route 

and introduced an additional sailing each 

week. Previously, Samskip’s vessel on the 

Rotterdam/Hull link could only load 

340 TEU. 

The new sailing takes place on a 

Wednesday evening out of Rotterdam 

and this allows consignees in the UK 

to pick up cargo in Hull on Thursday 

afternoon and ensure delivery throughout 

the UK on Friday. This is extremely 

important for weekend sales, which can 

be crucial in industries such as retailing 

and leisure. 

In addition, Samskip Multimodal has 

extended its cargo cut-off times in Hull 

and also Tilbury, which is another of its 

main UK port calls. Commenting on 

the service upgrade, Diederick Blom, 

chief operating officer of Samskip Multimodal, 

said: “These improvements are 

focused around offering our customers 

even more competitive and sustainable 

connections to the rest of Europe and 

other Samskip routes.” 

The new schedule fits well with retailers’ requirements 

JOIN US FOR 

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It starts on June 26 th , 

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At 14:00 on June 26 th at TOC Europe 2013, 

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be there. 

Call us for SMARTER WHERE IT MATTERS container handling. 

Tel. +358 204 2711, ask for Port Sales 

Email: ports-info@konecranes.com www.konecranes.com 

May 2013 25

Braid launches Agi-tank 

Braid has introduced a new, single-trip 

flexitank designed for 

high-viscosity bulk liquids and 

those with a high solids content 

that require mixing for discharge. 

Braid claims the new unit, 

dubbed Agi-tank, overcomes the 

handling difficulties experienced 

with such products when using 

traditional one-way flexitanks. 

Agi-tank was designed in 

2010 by Chris White of Grayhog 

Industries, an engineer with 

a background in the pump and 

agitation equipment industry. He 

is now part of Braid, following its 

acquisition of Grayhog in 2012. 

The newly restyled and patented 

Agi-tank is marketed exclusively 

from a new group office headed 

up by White at Denham Springs, 

on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, 

Louisiana. As well as developing 

this new niche market product 

with existing US clients, the 

Braid strategy calls for rolling it 

out worldwide via Braid’s global 

office and agency network. 

The Agi-tank uses a series of 

injection points in the top surface 

of the tank to agitate and 

mix the cargo pneumatically via 

injection probes that are inserted 

prior to discharge. The mixing 

system disperses and re-suspends 

the solids in the liquid, enabling 

a full discharge to take place. The 

system is capable of handling 

both liquid/solid and liquid/ 

liquid separations. 

The injection points also allow 

the insertion of heated mixing 

probes inside the tank, an option 

which enables the carriage 

of viscous products that require 

heat prior to discharge. The ability 

to provide agitation and heat 

increases the efficiency of the 

heating process. White explained 

that at least twice the heat transfer 

rate can be achieved with the Agitank 

compared to the rate possible 

with a traditional flexitank steam 

heater pad. The capability makes 

the Agi-tank suitable for the carriage 

of viscous liquid cargoes. 

CONTAINER INDUSTRY NEWS 

Den Hartogh orders 

Den Hartogh Logistics has 

brought forward an order for 

new 25,000 and 26,000 litre 

tanks from Singamas in China. 

The Netherlands-based company 

said strong customer demand 

has also prompted it to place an 

order for an additional 500 units 

at Welfit Oddy and Singamas, to 

enter its fleet this year. 

“The fast growth of the business 

for Global has made this 

decision possible, said Hans 

Ekelmans, director of Den Hartogh’s 

Global unit. 

“The reactions from the market 

are very positive – in all 

regions we see a clear positive 

trend in business volumes. The 

target for running a tank fleet of 

5,000 units in the global fleet by 

the year 2015 is clearly within 

reach. In the first quarter of 

2013, Den Hartogh Global performed 

significantly better than 

planned. Business has more than 

doubled compared to 2012 and 

the fleet utilisation has improved 

strongly. The strongest growth 

has been seen in the Middle East 

region, managed from our Dubai 

offices.” The unit also operates 

from Singapore, Houston, 

Le Havre and Rotterdam. 

Hoyer opens Saudi firm 

Hamburg-based tank container 

operator Hoyer has established 

Hoyer Saudi Arabia (HSA), a 

joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s 

Globe Marine Group and 

UAE-based Sharaf Group. Based 

in Dammam, the new firm has 

branch offices in Al Jubail and 

throughout Saudi Arabia. HSA 

will coordinate intermodal 

liquid bulk transport operations 

in Saudi Arabia and GCC 

countries; operate a third-party 

drumming plant in Al Jubail; and 

focus on onsite logistics projects 

for the region’s growing petrochemical 

industry. 

To help develop a regional logistics 

network and attract new 

business opportunities, the joint 

enterprise will invest in liquid 

bulk transport equipment and 

build an independent drum- 

Hoyer is repositioning a large number of European tanks to the Saudi Arabian 

operation for the start-up phase of the joint venture company 

ming plant in Al Jubail. A substantial 

number of Hoyer’s 20ft 

ISO tank containers will be repositioned 

from Europe to Saudi 

Arabia to facilitate the launch 

of the HSA operation. 

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Global tank container survey 

The global tank container fleet 

now totals around 338,260 units, 

according to a new report by the 

International Tank Container Organisation 

(ITCO). The study also 

estimated that the output from the 

world’s 16 leading manufacturers 

in 2012 totalled 39,700 tanks, 

with the same builders on course 

to build a similar number this year. 

The ITCO Tank Container 

Fleet Survey states that 71% of the 

fleet is being used by dedicated 

tank container operators and logistics 

companies. The remaining 

29% is shared among a range of 

users, including chemical producers, 

other cargo shippers, rail 

operators, shipping lines, oil companies 

and military/governmental 

bodies. 

While providing qualified estimates 

of tank numbers, the survey 

is based on rigorous methodology, 

ITCO emphasised. Compiled 

with the support of ITCO members 

and based on data provided 

from tank-owning firms, the 

ITCO survey gives details of 117 

tank operators worldwide. The 

operator fleet figure of 228,460 

units is, numerically, dominated 

by global operators such as Stolt, 

Bulkhaul, Hoyer, InterBulk and 

VOTG, but a growing number of 

new regional operators have been 

established in recent years. 

The survey lists 27 leasing 

companies which, between them, 

control 150,440 tanks. However, 

because the majority of these 

tanks are leased to operators or 

shippers, and are therefore included 

elsewhere in statistics, leasing 

company figures do not form part 

of the survey’s global total. The 

exceptions are those leased tanks 

not currently in operation. 

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26 

May 2013

ICT FOCUS 

Collision avoidance on the radar 

Positioning system specialist Symeo has 

successfully tested a collision avoidance 

system at a major straddle carrier terminal 

Collision avoidance is on the radar of 

several terminal operators looking to 

improve safety. Tracking equipment using 

GPS to optimise travel paths and 

record container moves is relatively 

common, but Germany’s Symeo is now 

working on a system that uses its Local 

Position Radar (LPR) technology to 

track equipment for the main purpose 

of collision avoidance. 

The system design goes beyond establishing 

safety zones around equipment 

and generating alerts when proximity 

is breached. Symeo is focusing 

on more comprehensive anti-collision 

functionality that uses different sensors 

and software-based rules to allow 

equipment to operate in close proximity 

at slow speeds without generating 

unnecessary alarms, while at the same 

time raising an alert when a real risk is 

imminent. 

Lessons from steel mills 

Symeo has installed a collision avoidance 

system in the hot slab storage area at a 

steel mill operated by Voestalpine Stahl 

GmbH. It covers cranes, straddle carriers 

and other vehicles that operate in a 

75,000 m 2 area. 

The positioning system consists of 

LPR transponders mounted around 

the facility as reference points and LPR 

radar units on vehicles and cranes. The 

position information is used by a Collision 

Warning System (CWS), a central 

controller similar to the TCAS system 

used for airplanes. Machines can determine 

any potential collision risks locally 

using data from its own position 

and from the other equipment. 

The vehicles transmit position, speed, 

travel direction and their own shape 

to other vehicles. The information is 

used to calculate a dynamic safety zone 

around each vehicle that controls the 

warning signals. Drivers have a six-inch 

display that shows their vehicle position 

and surrounding obstacles and gives 

visual and acoustic warnings when 

there is a collision danger. 

Symeo general manager Christoph 

Rommel explained that the system 

took some time to configure. It was 

initially set up (according to the customer’s 

specifications) to provide warnings 

based on proximity alone, but this 

proved too indiscriminate and generated 

too many alarms. 

Together with Voestalpine, Symeo 

went back and developed specific 

warning rules to allow two vehicles to 

pass at low speed, and gantry cranes to 

work in the same area in tandem without 

generating alarms. It is only by taking 

this approach, believes Rommel, 

that a workable system can be designed 

for a complicated environment with 

lots of moving equipment like a container 

terminal. 

Container applications 

For a container terminal, said Rommel, 

a CWS needs intelligence to identify 

parameters including speed and 

direction of travel at the vehicle level 

and report only those events that constitute 

a risk to the central software. 

It also needs to integrate information 

from quay cranes including trolley 

position, spreader height and portal 

beam height. 

Rather than set up alarms based 

solely on proximity events, the system 

designer needs to work methodically 

through all the instances where equipment 

comes into close proximity and 

define rules around what is safe and 

what is not. 

A straddle carrier could, for example, 

enter the proximity zone of a 

crane spreader but not pose a risk if the 

spreader is being hoisted. 

All terminal traffic patterns have to 

be analysed and every fixed obstacle, 

including light towers and hatch covers, 

must be identified and mapped. The 

hardware and software also need to be 

configured for different vehicle types, 

such as three- and four-high straddle 

carriers, that require different safety 

rules. 

Decentralised system 

Symeo does not believe the best way to 

design a system is to have a large fleet 

of vehicles reporting position and status 

constantly to a central application. The 

CWS at the steel mill is designed with a 

decentralised architecture. “Data is sent 

to a server only for replay analysis of 

near misses – all collision avoidance decisions 

are made locally on the vehicles 

and cranes; this minimises the amount 

of data that needs to be sent from 

equipment to the central software,” said 

Rommel. 

Each vehicle has a collision zone and 

a defined proximity radius. An onboard 

collision calculator monitors for obstacles 

in the proximity radius, but ignores 

other equipment unless their proximity 

radii overlap. When that occurs, position 

information is sent to the CWS 

software on the local machine, which 

See us at TOC Europe 

at booth B30 

triggers an alarm if the operational 

rules are breached. 

All communication is via triple redundant 

ZigBee at 2.4GHz using the 

Symeo data protocol. This means, explained 

Rommel, that there are no 

interference issues with the terminal’s 

WiFi network. The system has now 

been successfully tested at a container 

terminal, it fulfils the customer’s requirements 

and implementation is 

planned for 2014, said Rommel. 

The LPR system can also be leveraged 

to provide container position information 

and vehicle telematics if required. 

GPS has been preferred for this application, 

to date, particularly for straddle 

carriers, but Rommel believes this 

will change. Terminal operators want 

one PDS technology that can work 

Symeo has installed its system in a German 

steel mill and is looking to apply the technology 

to container terminals 

across the whole terminal, and GPS systems 

continually struggle because they 

lose signal underneath the quay cranes, 

he added. 

May 2013 27

Orbita to launch crane OCR 

Spanish process automation and 

engineering specialist Orbita 

Ingenieria is shortly to announce 

a crane OCR solution to add to 

its GateSuite gate automation 

system. 

Orbita was recently selected by 

Grup TCB to provide a gate automation 

system for 10 new entry 

and exit lanes at Grup TCB’s 

flagship facility, Terminal de Contenidors 

de Barcelona (TCB). 

This will be the third gate automation 

project undertaken by 

Grup TCB, following systems in 

Valencia (Orbita) and Buenaventura, 

Columbia (APS Technology 

Group). The APS system includes 

crane OCR, and Grup TCB 

wants this for Barcelona as well. 

Orbita is also improving its 

GateSuite by evolving the data 

capture technology, adding support 

for multiple brands of OCR 

cameras and improving the integration 

interface. Francisco Cavanillas, 

account manager for ports 

and terminals, said this will boost 

automation rates. Grup TCB’s 

Valencia terminal now achieves 

automation percentages in the 

high 90s, but TCB will get 95- 

98% right from the get go, he 

expects. 

The gate system for TCB includes 

OCR for container numbers 

and truck license plates, image 

capture for container damage 

inspection, and RFID and QR 

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Not satisfied with simply 

being competitive 

Become the competition. 

Code readers. The RFID readers 

are for a port authority-issued security 

card that drivers must validate 

by entering a PIN number. 

Orbita will supply all the hardware 

and its GateOS software to 

integrate the OCR data with the 

TOS, which in this case is Grup 

TCB’s in-house system called AR- 

GOS. The project also covers the 

removal and relocation of TCB’s 

existing Megaports radiation detection 

portals and infrastructure 

to the new terminal gates. 

An interesting feature of the 

project is the use of “validation 

kiosks” where truckers will 

also be able to check a transaction 

prior to entering the terminal. 

Truckers often know or 

suspect, said Cavanillas, when 

there is a problem with a gate 

transaction and everyone benefits 

if this can be identified out of the 

main gate traffic flow. Where a 

truck still presents with incomplete 

or missing information the 

driver will get a printed trouble 

ticket with information on the 

problem and who to call to resolve 

it. They will then pull out of the 

traffic flow into a separate lane. 

“The new automated gates 

will bring a lot of benefits to 

everyone in the logistics chain,” 

said Narcis Pavon, terminal and 

operations manager at TCB. “All 

of the current paperwork will 

disappear, as every single operation 

will be identified by a preadvised 

PIN code that the truck 

driver will input at the entrance 

gate. The new process will allow 

us to optimise terminal planning, 

resource allocation and cost control, 

while trucking companies 

will be able to plan their schedules 

better.” 

The Port of Luka Koper in Slovenia 

has completed a project to 

replace its Cosmos TOS with 

Tideworks Technology’s entire 

suite of TOS solutions. 

Replacing a TOS is complicated, 

and it took Luka Koper 

longer than initially expected. 

Tideworks had to integrate its 

software with other systems including 

an in-house business system 

called Tino. This was developed 

by a third party, Actual IT, 

approved by Customs and intertwined 

with the port community. 

As soon as the project began 

Boris Susmak, head of IT at 

Tideworks has announced a 

contract to supply services to 

Stockton Port Authority for its 

new “M-580 Marine Highway” 

barge service linking Stockton 

with Oakland. 

Earlier this year Tideworks’ 

sister company SSA Marine was 

awarded the contract to provide 

terminal services for this new 

service at Stockton. Tideworks’ 

contract is with the port, to 

deploy its Spinnaker Planning 

Management System and Star- 

Gate gate utility. 

Tideworks will deliver the 

solutions under a Software-as-a- 

Service (SaaS) model. Stockton 

will have no hardware on site. 

“The TOS will be hosted via 

Tidework’s data centre in western 

Washington [Lynwood],” 

said Mitchell Hall, senior sales 

engineer at Tideworks. “As part 

of the service, Tideworks will 

ICT FOCUS 

Stockton via SaaS 

Tideworks will deploy its Spinnaker Planning Management System and Star- 

Gate gate utility at the port of Stockton, but no hardware will be installed on site 

manage all the infrastructure, 

including OS upgrades/patches, 

DB administration, application 

software monitoring, back-ups, 

etc.” 

Users will access the TOS 

through the internet or over a 

VPN connection. “The applications 

are hosted on the server 

using Citrix tools. The application 

sessions are run locally on 

the server and the users interact 

with the client sessions via a virtual 

connection to the server,” 

added Hall. 

The TOS will treat all barge 

moves the same as vessel moves 

at a marine terminal, with both 

inbound and outbound Baplie 

files. Tideworks will take care 

of all EDI as part of the service, 

which is expected to go live in 

Q2 2013. Stockton will pay a 

monthly subscription, but there 

is no annual license fee. 

Luka Koper TOS goes live 

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what other ports they are up against. 

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your port’s specific challenges. 

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Luka Koper and Ronald Robinson, 

regional vice president 

for Tideworks, led a team to 

define necessary processes and 

requirements and “set realistic 

and achievable expectations” 

for the conversion. “Integration 

with Tino was extraordinarily 

complex,” said Susmak, but by 

collaborating with the port and 

Actual IT, Tideworks managed 

to achieve it “efficiently and cost 

effectively”. 

Luka Koper had been using 

Cosmos for 10 years and so 

transitioning to a new TOS was 

also a major cultural change. 

“Naturally, there was some 

initial resistance to such a largescale 

change; people become 

accustomed to doing things a 

certain way after so many years, 

and now you are giving them 

a completely new set of tools 

to accomplish their tasks,” said 

Robinson. 

“Collectively, we engaged in a 

training effort that was probably 

several-fold what it might have 

been in a start-up operation due 

to this phenomenon,” he added. 

Tideworks went live in Q4 

2012, initially for containerised 

cargo only, with other cargo 

types to be added in the future. 

Both parties describe the systems 

conversion and deployment 

process as “tricky” but Luka Koper 

is very happy with the result, 

and the service it received in the 

implementation phase. The new 

TOS and the Traffic Control 

system with graphical interfaces 

for CHE operators has helped 

increase productivity, improve 

yard inventory accuracy and reduce 

re-handles. 

Luka Koper credits Tideworks’ 

TOS, in conjunction 

with “certain process changes”, 

with lifting its gross crane rate 

to 23.2 moves an hour and enabling 

it to hit a record 100 moves 

per vessel hour last month. 

Israel’s HiTech Solutions (HTS) has announced a contract to install OCR 

at the Super Terminais facility in Manaus, Brazil. The system will be delivered 

and installed by HTS Brazil, the Brazilian Branch of HTS Israel 

established along with its Brazilian partner, Ergos Technology. HTS is 

currently planning the civil works to meet the deadline for project completion 

in September. This project follows HTS’s installations in Brazil for 

Tecondi at the Port of Santos (pictured) and Libra Terminais in Santos 

and Rio de Janeiro. 

28 

May 2013

ICT FOCUS 

WiMESH for GMP 

Générale de Manutention Portuaire of WiMESH is the reduced fixed infrastructure 

requirement. A traditional 

(GMP), a joint venture between DP 

World and CMA CGM, has installed a WiFi network offered as an alternative 

WiMESH network from Luceor at two required 11 access points at the 76- 

terminals in Le Havre. The terminals acre terminal, some of which would 

have a total capacity of 1.3M TEU and a have needed civil works to connect. By 

combined quay length of 2400m. putting a router on each straddle carrier 

France-based Luceor designs outdoor Luceor allows mobile routers to “mesh”, 

communications systems for emergency connecting to the access points through 

service providers and industrial applications 

like container terminals. It has de- 

WiMESH avoids the problem of data 

other mobile routers when required. 

veloped a WiMESH system that features being lost in the meshing process by 

redundant routing and meshing capabilities 

to allow routers to connect step- 

uses the wireless to send job instructions 

achieving very low signal latency. GMP 

by-step dynamically, without any central and equipment position information 

control. Luceor believes WiMESH is from its DGPS system to the TOS. Raux 

ideally suited for container terminals because 

it can provide ubiquitous outdoor 

said GPS information is very sensitive 

coverage over large distances without a 

lot of fixed infrastructure, reducing the 

cost of deployment. 

GMP was previously using a narrow 

band network. IT Director Patrick 

Labbé said it could not support the data 

requirements of the real-time equipment 

monitoring systems GMP wants 

to implement. 

The new Luceor WiMESH network 

achieves a minimum band width of 

300Mbit/s and covers two terminals. 

The network infrastructure consists of 

six fixed access points on the larger (76- 

acre) terminal and four on the second. 

GMP’s 90 straddle carriers are equipped 

with WiMESH routers with omni-directional 

antennas operating at 5.4GHz. 

16 STS cranes have WiMESH routers 

(5.4GHz) and local WiFi access points 

(2.4GHZ). 

Luceor’s strategic accounts manager 

Christian Raux said a big advantage 

Managed WiFi 

on the way 

US-based Wireless Network specialist 

Fidelity Comtech will soon launch a new 

product called NetWatch that will enable 

it to deliver WiFi as a managed service 

with guaranteed data throughput rates. 

Fidelity is tendering on new terminal 

projects in the US and also working 

with existing marine and rail terminals 

that have not had good experiences with 

wireless systems. At the moment, said Fidelity’s 

director of sales Bryan Lonergan, 

many terminals depend on the expertise 

of local contractors to configure and install 

a WiFi network correctly and have 

no visibility into issues when they occur. 

Lonergan said Fidelity has learnt, 

through discussions with potential customers, 

that what terminals want from a 

wireless supplier is “accountability so their 

business processes can work”, particularly 

where automation is being implemented. 

More importantly, that accountability has 

to be at the device level. 

Often the only information available 

is whether access points are working and 

the terminal has no visibility into why 

devices on equipment are not connecting, 

he added. 

Fidelity believes it has the hardware 

and expertise to provide consistently 

reliable WiFi that can support the most 

demanding applications like AGVs. Its 

Phocus Array 802.11 network is now 

operating in several terminals and more 

recently it launched a Magnetic Mount 

Cline Bridge (MMCB) for terminal vehicles. 

This improves WiFi reception by 

placing a router and two omni-directional 

antennas on the roof of a vehicle. 

With the new NetWatch product Fidelity 

“will take connectivity monitoring 

all the way out to the vehicle” by 

connecting a network monitoring tool 

to the ethernet port of the MMCB. This 

will give Fidelity remote information on 

signal strength and data throughput rates 

at the mobile equipment, where the terminal 

needs connectivity that it can use 

to manage the network. 

The logical next step for Fidelity is 

to offer WiFi as a managed service, with 

guaranteed data throughput rates. Net- 

Watch will be a core part of this offering 

and Fidelity is now expanding and adding 

more staff in preparation for launching 

a managed service. 

siemens.com/cranes 

to signal latency. Travelling at up to 30 

km/h, the straddle carriers are permanently 

connected to at least two routers 

with less than 30ms latency to maintain 

sessions. 

Low latency is also supported by a 

“real full mesh” topology, “which means 

that mobiles are not only connected 

to access points, but also between each 

other in Ad-Hoc mode,” said Raux. “If a 

mobile loses a direct connection to the 

infrastructure, it is instantaneously and 

automatically relayed by another mobile.” 

In addition, the Level 3 (routing) 

network allows redundancy. 

While the Luceor deployment faced a 

few challenges during set up, Luceor responded 

with deployment tool improvements 

and it is now performing well. 

“We have the bandwidth that we 

require,” said Labbé. For the straddle 

carriers this is an available real time 

TCP/IP bandwidth of between 3 and 5 

Mbit/s. GMP intends to use the bandwidth 

to support additional applications 

that work better with real time 

equipment monitoring, including Navis 

PrimeRoute and, potentially, a collision 

avoidance system. VOIP is also being 

considered. 

Installing a router on all mobile 

equipment requires more investment in 

hardware than other options, but it is becoming 

more common. If the terminal 

wants to move beyond sending simple 

work instructions, it needs a network 

that can support more data and provide 

real-time connectivity, Labbé added. 

Luceor’s WiMESH network requires very 

little fixed infrastructure to provide coverage 

across the two GMP terminals 

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ICT FOCUS 

PNCT goes mobile 

Port Newark Container Terminal 

(PNCT) in New Jersey has deployed 

a new App called Lynx MCA (Mobile 

Customer Access) to give truckers and 

other customers real time access to information 

from its Navis applications. 

Lynx MCA was developed by Versiant 

Corporation, which has a lot of experience 

with Navis software and is its sole 

SPARCS N4 implementation partner 

for the Americas. 

Ports America-owned PNCT operates 

Navis SPARCS 2.7 and Express, 

plus WebAccess. IT Director Adam Sulich 

said WebAccess is used widely by 

desk-based staff, from freight forwarders 

and shipping lines, to access container 

Solvo.TOS 

TERMINAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS 

information by a web browser, but the 

trucking community wanted an App 

that made container information available 

without having to navigate through 

PNCT’s website. “The trucking community 

is used to dealing with companies 

like Fedex and UPS that have Apps 

tailored for various contractors, and they 

wanted something similar,” he said. 

Using Versiant’s Lynx MCA, PNCT 

customers can verify container availability, 

view vessel schedules, review bookings 

and evaluate gate EIRs prior to arriving 

at the terminal using virtually any 

mobile smartphone or tablet device that 

is directly routed from PNCT’s website. 

PNCT tested and refined the App 

for two months before rolling it out for 

Apple, Blackberry and Android Phones. 

According to Sulich, the response from 

truckers was “enormously positive”. 

They provided feedback that led to 

some changes in format and functions, 

but the App itself and integration and 

with the TOS worked from the beginning 

without any problems. 

Since Lynx MCA was introduced, 

PNCT has seen a significant reduction 

in calls to its service centre and is now 

considering giving more options to mobile 

users. Currently they can view information, 

but the App is not configured 

to enable two-way communication. It 

would boost efficiency if truck drivers 

could update certain information and 

pay demurrage online. PNCT would 

also like to link the App to its Twitter 

feed, which Sulich said was extremely 

Manage with ease! 

5 reasons to deploy Solvo.TOS 

useful for notifying users about PNCT’s 

status in the aftermath of Hurricane 

Sandy last year. 

Edward Read, Versiant vice president 

for application development, said Apps 

like Lynx MCA are the way of the future 

and the firm is now talking with 

other terminal operators in New York 

and New Jersey that also want to use it. 

Versiant has developed Lynx MCA to 

integrate with SPARCS N4, older Navis 

software, other brand TOS applications 

and other software like billing systems. It 

can be configured for two-way communication 

to enable users to send information 

from mobile devices if required. 

The Lynx MCA smartphone App allows 

PNCT customers to verify container availability, 

among other useful functions, with information 

routed from PNCT’s website 

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Specialized time-tested solutions for any type of terminal: 

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Learn more about Solvo.TOS at www.solvo.ru/en/across-the-board 

Visit Solvo‘s exhibition 

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TOC Europe, 

25-27 June 2013, 

Ahoy, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 

AutoStow 

in testing 

A new software application called Auto- 

Stow for automated vessel planning is 

being tested in Singapore. The software 

was developed by the Nanyang Technological 

University (NTU) Maritime 

Research Centre and School of Computer 

Engineering as part of a project in 

association with APL and the Maritime 

and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). 

One of Singapore’s biggest vessel 

planning challenges as a transhipment 

hub is balancing the loading weight 

distribution required for vessel stability 

with the need to optimise the vessel 

stow for onward ports of call. Optimising 

the stow for onward calls can mean 

having to add ballast water. Ballast water 

is deadweight that costs the shipping line 

money to carry – re-handles require extra 

port moves and add to port time. 

According to the MPA experienced 

planners in Singapore take around two 

hours to produce a vessel plan, but 

it takes years of training to get to that 

level, and when planners leave they take 

all their knowledge with them. Four 

years ago the MPA and APL approached 

NTU about developing software to automate 

vessel planning. Funding was 

obtained for the AutoStow project and 

NTU researchers started experimenting 

with advanced optimisation techniques 

in the stowage planning process. 

“The greatest challenge lies in translating 

the strategies of human experts for 

handling various situations into consistent 

and efficient computer algorithms, 

and this phase lasted for about two 

years'” said the MPA. The result is a software 

application that can plan container 

distribution within minutes once planers 

set up the details of the voyage and vessel 

and input the discharge and loading lists. 

The project is now in its final stage 

of testing with APL. At this stage around 

70-80% of the plan generated by software 

can be used directly, with the balance 

requiring minor “tweaking” by 

manual planners. 

Osaka App 

The port of Osaka is leveraging smartphones 

as part of its patent-pending Port 

of Osaka Container Truck Information 

System. This is a web-based service that 

sends real time traffic information via 

smartphones and websites. Smartphone 

users access an App that displays the length 

of the gate queue on a map, with pictures 

from cameras outside the gates, and a display 

showing the number of vehicles in 

the line and the estimated waiting time. 

Information from connected smartphones 

is also fed into a website that 

shows registered trucking companies the 

location of their trucks outside the terminal. 

Masaharu Shinohara, executive 

officer for engineering and planning at 

Osaka, said the App has proved very useful 

in helping balance the gate workflow. 

Truck queues can reach up to 3km long 

at times. Truckers can access the App and 

decide not to come to the port if gate 

congestion is too heavy and they are able 

to take another job. 

30 

May 2013

NEWS ICT FOCUS 

E-seals at Antwerp gate 

DP World Antwerp has now been operating 

the “Janus Gate” RFID e-seal 

system from Belgian company Leghorn 

Perfra since December 2012. 

Janus Gate uses the RFID UHF ISO 

18000-6 (EPC Global) standard for passive 

tags operating in the 865-869 MHz 

frequency. Leghorn supplies a range of 

e-seals, including its Neptune model that 

is built to the ISO 17712 2010 standard 

for bolt seals, but Janus Gate can support 

any EPC Global e-seal operating at 865- 

869 MHz. 

At Antwerp Gateway, readers with a 

range of 6-8m are installed before the 

OCR portals on three “fast lanes”. The 

readers are connected to the Janus Gate 

software and collect data comprising: 

e-seal serial number; gate and lane ID; 

date and time; sequential readings where 

a container has two seals or where there 

are two containers on a trailer; and security 

seal state (if supported by the e-seal). 

The software generates a log file of this 

information. 

In early December DPW made it 

compulsory for hauliers serving its Antwerp 

Gateway terminal to provide administrative 

details in advance through 

its web portal. Once jobs are confirmed, 

the haulier is given a TAS (Truck Appointment 

System) number, which is 

entered at the terminal and matched by 

the gate software to the truck and container 

data collected by OCR. 

The fast lane stations were also installed 

in December but e-seals are not 

compulsory. Containers with e-seals do 

not have to stop for a physical seal inspection, 

instead continuing straight through 

one of the three fast lanes. Truckers can 

still use the fast lane if they enter the seal 

number themselves at a self-service desk. 

In the future, trucks using the fast lane 

and being served by ASCs will be able to 

access the terminal out-of-hours and get 

served during shift breaks. 

By the end of 2012, 10-15 container 

transport companies had begun using e- 

seals regularly. Early this year, Leghorn 

In the future, trucks served by ASCs will be 

able to access the terminal out-of-hours 

made some adjustments to the filters so 

the readers only read the RFID e-seals 

and not truck or chassis tags from other 

systems. “The system runs faultless, and 

DP World is very satisfied,” said Leghorn 

managing director Alex Le Clef. Users 

were initially concerned about the cost 

of the e-seals but are now satisfied that 

leghorn can keep it below €1 per seal, 

he added. 

Despite the low cost and the operational 

incentives, e-seal adoption could 

be better. “At this moment only container 

transport companies are using 

them,” said Le Clef. Leghorn, along with 

the commercial team at DPW, is trying 

to raise awareness among shippers and 

shipping lines of the advantages of e- 

seals and fast lanes along the wider supply 

chain. To make them more attractive 

Leghorn is now extending the range of 

data its e-seals can carry. 

Groups like the European Shippers 

Council are now promoting e-seals 

to their members, but Le Clef said the 

technology will become “a real success” 

when other ports embrace it too and 

install fast lanes at their terminals. Discussions 

in this direction are now underway 

and Le Clef is confident that within 

two years several other terminals will be 

equipped with the technology. “After all, 

[it] is very accessible in price and with 

a very fast ROI, especially in use with 

OCR,” he added. 

Port of Tyne takes two 

The UK Port of Tyne has contracted 

Central Systems and Automation 

(CSA) and DBIS to provide separate 

applications that will be integrated 

to form a unified cargo management 

system. Tyne has nearly doubled its tonnage 

since 2009 and handles around 5 

Mt of dry bulk, 70,000 TEU and over 

650,000 vehicles. 

CSA’s two main products are its 

Autostore TOS and a Warehouse Management 

System (WMS). DBIS, which 

is owned by Terex-Gottwald through its 

subsidiary TBA, has a specialist Terminal 

Management System (TMS) called 

CommTrac for dry bulk terminals. Tyne 

will implement the Autostore Container 

Terminal Management System 

(CTMS) and Autostore Resource Management 

system. A number of modules 

are included within this – vessel planning, 

EDI, Destin8 interface, vehicle 

booking, billing and functionality for 

container maintenance and repair. 

On the bulk side, DBIS will supply 

CommTrac to manage bulk operations, 

vessel management and berth planning. 

DBIS will extend its vessel management 

module into a full marine operations system, 

managing vessel movements, tugs 

and pilotage, as well as berth planning. 

CSA and DBIS put in a joint bid 

for the project, which has a total value 

of £1M. “Our offer to the client was 

based on the principle that selecting 

‘best of breed’ products for each operational 

area with good interfaces between 

is a much better solution than 

seeking a ‘one size fits all’ port management 

solution and obviously the client 

agreed with this philosophy,” said DBIS 

sales director David Trueman. 

A number of TOS suppliers offer 

breakbulk, auto and general cargo 

functionality with their TOS, but dry 

bulk cargo is quite a different market. 

CommTrac is designed in a very different 

way to a TOS, WMS or general cargo 

system, forming a layer between business 

ERP systems and machine-based control 

systems like SCADA (supervisory 

control and data acquisition) and weigh 

bridges that measure bulk cargo flow. 

CSA director Andrew McKaig added 

that the two systems are “a good fit” 

from a technology perspective because 

they are both based on Microsoft SQL 

databases. As the main contractor, CSA 

is responsible for systems integration 

and delivering a single, unified web interface 

for external users. The integration 

work will be done off-site, made 

easier because the CSA and DBIS offices 

are only an hour’s drive apart. 

Another aspect of the integration 

is connecting the port systems to the 

Destin8 Port Community System. CSA 

will be able to do this virtually off-theshelf 

as it already has an interface to 

Destin8 used by other UK clients. 

The software will be rolled out in 

stages over a 12-month period. The 

Autostore CTMS will be installed first, 

followed by the DBIS vessel management 

system, DBIS bulk management 

system and then the Autostore resource 

management system. This will cover virtually 

all Tyne’s operation, except some 

general cargo which is handled through 

another WMS application, and was not 

included in the scope of the project. 

CSA will make some customisations 

to Autostore to meet the requirements 

of Tyne’s business with Nissan, but otherwise 

it is implementing “standard software”, 

said McKaig. Having two vendors 

does not add to the implementation 

time significantly – a complex system 

like this should be rolled out in stages, 

rather than trying to implement all systems 

in one “big bang”, added McKaig. 

CommTrac has been deployed at 

mixed terminals before, including 

APMT’s Pipavav and Callao facilities 

where it manages dry bulk, handled 

alongside container operations controlled 

by Navis software. The two systems 

are not, however, integrated in any way. 

Trueman and McKaig are optimistic 

that there is a good market for a more 

integrated approach. “On the surface it 

looks like the amalgam of two solutions 

is more complex than a Port Management 

System but typical PMS solutions 

don’t provide the level of functionality 

required by the individual terminal 

operations and it is here that our 

integrated solution will pay dividends,” 

said Trueman. 

Container operations at the Port of Tyne will benefit from a variety of modules included in the 

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May 2013 33

Malta takes Telematics 

Freeport Malta is now using a 

telematics system to provide information 

on vehicle location 

for yard planning purposes to 

its Navis TOS, and on machine 

condition to its IBM Maximo 

maintenance and fleet management 

software. 

Before it was acquired by Cargotec, 

Navis had been pushing 

into the telematics market, with 

an ultimate goal of bringing information 

on a vehicle’s location 

and its condition together to improve 

overall fleet management 

and yard planning. Cargotec is 

now marketing equipment-based 

systems and products under the 

Kalmar brand, where they are offered 

as a TOS and equipment 

OEM agnostic product. 

Kalmar has installed GPS units 

on 63 terminal tractors and 23 

STS cranes at the terminal. The 

GPS units are part of an onboard 

vehicle controller supplied 

by CrossControl, which is now 

part of Actuant Corporation and 

specialises in controllers for diagnostic 

and integrated fleet management 

applications. 

CrossControl is supplying 

Bromma with controllers and 

displays for its Green Zone 

products. Kalmar is also using 

CrossControl’s processor (called 

Main Controller) and display 

computers in its SmartPort range 

of port automation products. At 

Malta Freeport Kalmar installed 

Main Controller processors 

without a display to provide the 

GPS position that Freeport uses 

as part of its yard planning system. 

Malta Freeport is using Navis 

PrimeRoute vehicle allocation 

and travel optimisation software. 

This benefits from “job stepping”, 

where the software gets a 

message when a particular piece 

of equipment has arrived at one 

stage in a move, such as underneath 

a crane or at the right spot 

in an RTG block. Malta Freeport 

uses the GPS on STS cranes to 

implement geo-fences around 

the crane portal so the software 

knows instantly when a terminal 

tractor arrives under a crane 

without having to rely on the 

tractor driver hitting a function 

key. 

Freeport is also implementing 

IBM’s Maximo software, which 

tracks assets and is used to develop 

maintenance schedules to 

ensure preventative maintenance 

is scheduled and completed. It 

also manages spare parts inventory 

and can be used to operate a 

just-in-time ordering system for 

spare parts. 

To support Maximo, the Main 

Controller connects to the tractors 

electronic system via CAN 

Bus to collect data, which is then 

sent by WiFi to the SmartPort 

server. Data on fuel level, engine 

hours, coolant level, coolant tem- 

TSB in the process mine 

Korea’s Total Soft Bank (TSB) 

is encouraging terminals to consider 

“process mining” as they 

look for ways to leverage operational 

data to boost productivity. 

Data mining is a way of analysing 

data to discover hidden correlations 

and trends in recorded 

events. In a container terminal 

context, said TSB, data mining 

typically clusters “containers by 

cargo type or operator to figure 

out average handling time for the 

group.” This is useful to some extent, 

but is ultimately limited by 

the existing statistical functions 

of the TOS. It cannot really tell 

anything more than the handling 

time of various containers broken 

down by their attributes, said 

TSB. 

Where terminals want to dig 

into data to try and identify 

where they can improve performance 

TSB considers “process 

mining” is a more useful 

approach. “Process mining is a 

branch of data mining focusing 

more on events and timing,” said 

TSB. It examines event logs to 

determine a sequence of events 

and when they happened. 

According to the software 

company, container terminals 

are ideal for process mining because 

they have a TOS to control 

cranes and other container 

handling equipment. There are 

lots of event logs with all the 

perature, and oil pressure is then 

forwarded on to Maximo every 

five seconds. 

Freeport Malta is still implementing 

Maximo and is not yet 

using this information to support 

some of its advanced features, 

necessary information required, 

“like which container has been 

handled by which crane at which 

time”. Terminals also have a well 

defined “priori process model”; 

meaning they have clear repetitive 

processes and time period 

norms against which specific 

events can be compared. 

“By breaking down the container 

handling process via process 

mining, we are able to grasp 

the average time required between 

events and check which 

containers are handled over average 

time and then try to find 

common attributes of containers 

or events through data mining 

techniques” said TSB. Process 

mining requires some expertise 

to distinguish important data 

from other events and this is 

where the experience of a TOS 

supplier is needed. 

Getting detailed event logs is 

obviously important for this type 

of process mining. Automated 

or semi-automated terminals 

where the position of equipment 

is known through the crane or 

fleet management software have 

much more detailed event logs 

than conventional terminals. At 

conventional manned terminals 

equipment positions might only 

be recorded intermittently. Typically 

a TOS knows equipment 

positions only when drivers report 

arrival at various points in 

like scheduling fuelling dynamically. 

So far the main benefits 

Malta has achieved from the telemetry 

system relate to getting 

accurate information in real time. 

Freeport is now confident it has 

the platform to get the benefits 

ICT FOCUS 

Malta Freeport is using vehicle telematics to provide real time data to planning and fleet management applications 

the task. TSB noted that in these 

cases, machine generated data 

should be incorporated before 

process mining begins. 

TSB has used process mining 

at the Kao Ming Container 

Terminal (KMCT) in Taiwan to 

investigate the reasons behind 

re-handling moves in its automated 

RMG stacks. It collected 

information on the re-handling 

moves and the re-handled 

container attributes over a oneweek 

period. Through process 

mining TSB identified seven reasons 

for re-handling and was able 

to suggest improvements to two 

specific types of patterns. The 

of its investment in Maximo and 

planning applications like Prime 

Route without having to rely on 

manual processes or data entry. 

A company spokesperson said 

the results so far “are very 

encouraging”. 

details are confidential but TSB 

said the improvements reduced 

shuffling moves by between 25% 

and 50%. 

Chih-Cheng Kao, KMCT 

vice president of terminal operation, 

said process mining produced 

a good result quickly. Its 

administrators were able to get 

the required data easily and take 

immediate action to reduce shuffling. 

“[Process mining analysis] 

is one of the intelligent analysis 

tools for terminal operators to 

manage and control job orders 

smoothly at the yard and shipside. 

Thanks to the instant and reliable 

analysis data obtained from 

it, we can decrease the shuffling 

rate in yard and increase operational 

performance immediately 

at shipside and yard,” he said. 

TSB used process mining to investigate re-handling at Taiwan’s Kao Ming 

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34 

May 2013

NEWS ICT FOCUS 

Auckland’s efficiency drive 

Ports of Auckland is trying a new 

yard planning scheme as it gears 

up to transition to SPARCS N4 

New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland 

Limited (POAL) is charting 

a new course as it prepares to 

make the transition from Navis 

SPARCS to SPARCS N4. The 

move involves replacing several 

applications including SPARCS, 

the PACTS yard inventory system 

developed in Australia by 

Patrick Stevedores, and an inhouse 

development called PIMS 

(Port Information Management 

Systems) that provides billing 

functionality and operational reporting 

with SPARCS N4. 

As previously reported, in 

2008 POAL contracted Korea’s 

Total Soft Bank to complete a 

“blueprint and detailed planning 

phase” for a comprehensive system 

covering all aspects of container 

terminal operations, CFS, 

billing and e-commerce services. 

After considering several options, 

Raoul Borley, POAL general 

manager of port operations, said 

the decision was made last year 

to stay with Navis, for several 

reasons. 

“We believe SPARCS N4 

is the best platform for an IT 

structure that can support our 

productivity targets and goal of 

being the technology leader in 

the New Zealand market,” he 

explained. POAL wants to embrace 

new technologies as they 

become available, and it believes 

Navis is a leader in this respect. 

“Navis has been tried and tested 

by most other large ports in 

New Zealand, POAL’s customers 

are familiar with it and POAL’s 

Board were assured that this was 

a good investment,” he added. 

Borley’s own experience with 

SPARCS N4 also played a role. 

He worked for 15 years in a variety 

of roles at Ports of Auckland 

prior to leaving in 2010. 

He then moved to UK-based 

Best Shore Business Solutions, a 

Navis SPARCS implementation 

partner and process improvement 

consultant, before returning to 

Auckland in January 2012. 

Productivity drive 

With a strong directive from the 

CEO and executive team, POAL 

has a clearly stated objective to 

raise its productivity, but it is not 

looking to SPARCS N4 to deliver 

a step change all by itself. 

POAL is engaged in process improvement 

right now, developing 

new yard planning and operational 

rules that it will carry over 

to SPARCS N4. 

Although it has made a lot of 

capital investment in STS cranes 

and straddle carriers, POAL in 

the past has struggled to achieve 

productivity over 28-29 moves 

per hour. Yard planning plays 

a key role in crane rates and 

this was one of the main areas 

where Borley saw immediate 

scope for improvement. “Though 

we use Navis Expert Decking, 

we weren’t using it very well,” 

he said. 

Before testing any new strategies 

an expert was brought in 

to conduct a detailed analysis of 

cargo types and container distribution 

across the yard. This analysis 

showed how better planning 

of container locations could support 

higher vessel productivity. 

Since then the port has 

changed yard allocation criteria 

to better utilise the stacking area 

closer to the quayside. The focus 

of yard planning has gone from 

minimising straddle travel distances 

to staging and re-planning 

the yard to support higher crane 

productivity. This does mean 

straddle carriers are doing more 

moves, but they are performed 

within existing shifts, so the additional 

cost is limited to fuel and 

maintenance. 

Some of the planning concepts 

POAL is implementing are 

in fact borrowed from ASC yard 

planning, where containers are 

commonly moved three or more 

times as they progress from the 

landside to the waterside end of 

the block. Other new ideas are 

being developed in conjunction 

with Navis. 

Dwell time 

POAL is also tackling shipping 

practices that adversely affect its 

productivity. Dwell times are 2.5 

days for import containers and 

3.5 for export boxes, but these 

figures do not include rolled 

boxes. It has made significant 

progress tackling the problem of 

containers arriving at the terminal 

without a Customs Export 

Delivery Order (CEDO). Shippers 

would apply for a CEDO 

when the box was in the yard, 

but if it was not given, the container 

would have to be removed 

from the loading list and rolled. 

This played havoc with yard 

and vessel planning and POAL 

worked out 53% of vessels were 

impacted by CEDO issues. It 

was particularly a problem where 

one box in a pre-staged twin-lift 

pair failed to obtain a CEDO. 

Since February POAL has been 

enforcing a policy of removing 

from the load list any box without 

a CEDO two hours prior 

to the vessel ETA, and charging 

demurrage if the box is subsequently 

rolled. Financial penalties 

are bringing a change in shipper 

behaviour. 

Through a combination of 

process and yard planning 

changes POAL has been able to 

lift crane productivity above 32 

moves per hour. Borley said it 

recently hit 37 moves on several 

vessels and he is confident the 

terminal can get to 42 without 

adding more handling equipment. 

The experience has highlighted 

to POAL the difference 

between just using a TOS and 

using more advanced features to 

the full extent to unlock the potential 

of its investment in equipment. 

It has decided to purchase 

TBA’s CONTROLS emulation 

software to give it the ability to 

test different scenarios and configurations 

as it continues this 

process. 

Path to SPARCS N4 

Borley acknowledges that transitioning 

to SPARCS N4 is a 

big challenge, particularly in the 

integration and EDI areas where 

other ports are still having issues. 

POAL will manage as much of 

the transition as possible itself, 

and is now developing a plan 

for testing interfaces and implementing 

the software in stages. 

At this stage the plan is to 

make the transition in the Q2 

2014. Concurrently, POAL is 

running a separate tender for a 

Gate Operating System, which 

will be rolled out with gate and 

crane OCR after the TOS implementation 

is complete. Another 

project undergoing evaluation 

is a new GPS system for the 

straddle carriers that will be used 

to support real time container in- 

Auckland is using yard gantry crane planning concepts to support higher crane 

productivity with a straddle carrier system 

ventory and yard planning. 

Borley emphasised that getting 

the most out of SPARCS 

N4 entails a lot more challenges 

than the technical, integration 

aspects. POAL wants to work 

with its customers to show them 

how current business practices 

impact port productivity, and in 

some cases get them to embrace 

change. The port could mandate 

RFID truck tagging, for example, 

but a lot more efficiencies 

could be gained if the trucking 

community embraced RFID in 

its planning too. The port is now 

engaging with the wider New 

Zealand supply chain, including 

other NZ ports, on addressing 

some of these issues. 

Maher starts roll out 

Maher Terminals in New Jersey 

is now rolling out SPARCS 

N4, which would bring to an 

end what is believed to be the 

longest running SPARCS N4 

implementation project to 

date. 

Maher made the announcement 

that it would replace its 

in-house TOS with SPARCS 

N4 in 2008 and has been 

conducting extensive on-site 

testing using Aecom’s General 

Marine Terminal Emulation 

tool. 

This couples a simulation engine 

to the TOS to test how the 

TOS functions with real operational 

data and gives a graphical 

overview of how a terminal 

operates under the rules and 

parameters of the TOS planning 

functionality. 

The cultural and operational 

transition from Maher’s inhouse 

system to SPARCS N4 

has been a significant factor in 

prolonging the project. 

After it acquired Maher 

Terminals, Deutsche Bank’s 

RREEF Infrastructure reviewed 

its business and Brad 

Gordon, director of acquisitions, 

said Maher’s processes 

were out of step with the rest 

of the industry. He described 

its in-house TOS as a “huge 

waste of money” with “all the 

learnings of Maher and none 

of the learnings of the rest of 

the industry.” 

Maher is taking the final implementation 

in stages, starting 

with the empty depot in April 

before moving on to its main 

container terminal this month. 

Aspects of its existing 

CTMS TOS will run in parallel 

with SPARCS N4 for a 

time before the transition is 

completed in June. 

This makes the implementation 

period more complicated, 

with customers required to 

enter data into two systems at 

times, but significantly lowers 

the risk of operational problems. 

May 2013 35

ICT FOCUS 

Reefer monitoring set to roll 

Cranes cables. 

URSUS® 

IDENTEC Solutions has launched 

three new pilot projects for its Reefer 

Asset Management System (RAMS) 

over the last six months. All are at container 

terminals that are looking for a 

system to automate the reefer monitoring 

process as far as possible. 

The heart of IDENTEC’s Reefer 

Asset Management System is its UHF 

868-920 MHz active RFID technology 

and the Wireless Asset Management 

System (WAMS) platform developed 

by IDENTEC’s partner Mark-It Services, 

a US-based supplier of cold chain 

services. IDENTEC’s iQ350 RFID tags 

support two-way communication with 

its iPORT 350 readers to send and receive 

information to reefer boxes from 

the iSHARE server that supports the 

RAMS application. 

Rather than relying on the reefer 

having a power line modem, IDEN- 

TEC connects to the serial port directly 

to access the reefer’s micro controller. 

The RFID tags communicate with 

a local network of readers and have 

a 500m range for sending information 

and a 250m range for receiving. 

The RFID network is set up like a localised 

wireless system, with minimal 

fixed infrastructure, enabling it to be deployed 

very quickly virtually anywhere 

reefers are stored, including wheeled 

yards and temporary storage areas 

A complete product range. 

where reefers are powered by gensets. 

RAMS is independent of the reefer 

unit and carrier. Some reefer manufactures 

use proprietary data protocols 

for communication with the micro 

controller, in particular Thermo 

King with its i-box system. Michael 

Dempsey, IDENTEC’S general manager 

for ports and terminals, said it has 

come to arrangements with the reefer 

manufacturers and can connect to any 

container that has a serial port, including 

the four major suppliers, Carrier, 

Daiken, MCI/Star Cool and Thermo 

King. There are still some reefers that 

have no serial port at all in service, 

but IDENTEC is confident is can support 

97-99% of the active reefer fleet. 

In the past, the reefer monitoring 

market has suffered from getting caught 

up in the uncertainty over e-seals and 

container tracking. Container terminals 

have been reluctant to invest, not knowing 

whether truly ubiquitous container 

tracking and monitoring would emerge 

as a supply chain norm driven by shippers 

and shipping lines. 

Maersk is rumoured to be announcing 

a new global monitoring system 

this year, but Dempsey does not see this 

dampening terminals’ demand for their 

own system. Over the last 12 months 

there has been a “huge awakening” to 

the potential of reefer monitoring, he 

added, driven mainly by the value proposition 

to container terminals. 

Reefer traffic is growing much faster 

than containerisation as a whole, and 

while a lot of terminals contract out 

reefer management services, the cost 

savings from automating the process are 

significant. Comprehensive monitoring 

also delivers a better service to shippers 

by enabling accurate information to be 

made available through the terminal’s 

customer web portal. 

Yard automation and safety are also 

driving factors. The need to keep automated 

cranes out of reefer zones 

while technicians are working creates 

an operational imperative to minimise 

the time technicians are on reefer racks 

servicing boxes. 

The location of the three pilot 

projects is confidential at this stage 

but they are all for different operators 

and include integration with Navis 

SPARCS and Tideworks TOS applications. 

Berg bullish 

on tracking 

PearTrack’s GPS tracking system and 

Sweloxx’s reusable container lock are combined 

in a new range of e-seals 

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The container tracking market is 

poised for spectacular growth, according 

to a new report from Swedenbased 

business intelligence analyst Berg 

Insight. Berg’s latest report found that 

the installed base of container tracking 

systems grew 54% in 2012. The 

number of active remote container 

tracking units deployed on intermodal 

shipping containers was 137,000 in 

Q4 2012, up from 89,000 a year earlier. 

Growing at a compound annual 

growth rate (CAGR) of 49.1%, this 

number is expected to reach 1M by 

2017. The penetration rate of remote 

tracking systems in the total population 

of containers is forecast to increase 

from 0.7% in 2012 to 4.1% in 2017. 

Berg’s 2013 forecast is actually less 

optimistic than its 2012 prediction. 

Then it calculated that the CAGR 

for container tracking was 66.9% and 

1M installed units would be reached 

by 2016. 

Berg noted that after acquiring 

StarTrak, PAR LMS and GlobalTrak, 

Orbcomm has emerged as the largest 

vendor of tracking devices. It recently 

announced its first “self-powered 

M2M tracking and monitoring 

device” for container tracking, the 

Orbcomm GT 1100. Orbcomm is 

also focusing on the trucking market 

where it just announced seven new 

transport companies have signed up 

for its ReeferTrak solution for refrigerated 

transport assets. 

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RFID deals 

The UK’s Avonwood Developments Ltd 

has won further orders for its RFIDbased 

safety system, ZoneSafe. The system 

uses Eureka dual frequency active RFID 

transponders worn by ground staff, together 

with RFID readers on equipment, 

to warn drivers when people enter a safety 

zone around a vehicle. 

The new orders come from undisclosed 

ports in Chile and Australia. “The system 

will be fitted to reach stackers, heavy-duty 

forklift trucks and small forklift trucks 

operating within the ports to improve 

safety between pedestrians and industrial 

vehicles,” Avonwood said in a statement. 

The firm is marketing ZoneSafe as a 

“safety aid” that is especially useful in reducing 

some of the issues and safety risks 

associated with industrial vehicles such as 

limited visibility and blind spots. It comes 

in two options: Compact and Standard. 

The Compact version is designed for 

small forklifts and machinery, while the 

Standard system is suitable for large industrial 

vehicles like reach stackers, but 

versions are compatible. 

36 

May 2013

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Rotterdam gives rise to new berths 

Construction of the new container terminals 

on Maasvlakte II is on schedule 

The first phase of the Port of Rotterdam’s 

massive Maasvlakte II (MVII) docks were 

officially opened during May, after almost 

five years of construction work. The 

project got under way in September 2008. 

Since then the contractors, led by Boskalis 

and Van Oord have dredged and pumped 

240M m 3 of sand, constructed a 3.5 kms 

long, hard seawall with 7 Mt of stone and 

20,000 concrete blocks from the old seawall, 

built 3.5 kms of quay wall, 24 kms 

of roads and 14 kms of rail track. 

Almost 1000-ha of land have been 

created, including a reserve bank of 300- 

ha, while the enclosed port basins have a 

20m deep water area in excess of 560-ha. 

All of this, says the port authority (HBR), 

was achieved on time and for €150M less 

than the budget of €1.7B. 

When the plans for MVII were first 

unveiled in the early 2000s, the economic 

outlook was very different from today’s. 

As such, while MVII is a marvel of engineering 

and project management, its immediate 

aim, to relieve pressure on existing 

facilities, is less pressing. Hence it will 

lead to even more competition in the 

container handling sector than envisaged. 

As is well-known, ECT’s owner 

Hutchison filed a lawsuit against HBR 

claiming €900M for damage to its interests 

caused by the opening of rival container 

terminals on MVII. The case is ongoing 

and is sub judice. 

The construction of the two MVII 

container terminals - to be operated by 

Rotterdam World Gateway (consortium 

of DP World, APL, MOL, HMM and 

CMA CGM) and APM Terminals - is on 

schedule and both will be operational 

towards the end of next year. 

MVII is also generating interest from 

companies that want to establish them- 

Maersk’s 8400 TEU capacity MAERSK 

TUKANG was part of the flotilla of ships, boats 

and barges that sailed along the Yangtsekanaal 

to mark the official opening of Maasvlakte II 

in May. (Photo: Aeroview) 


news 

Getting tied up 

ECT has taken a joint stake in the Rotterdam 

company that developed a shorebased 

constant tension mooring system. 

As previously reported (WorldCargo News, 

June 2010, p6), the design, known as 

ShoreTension, was developed by KVRE 

(the Royal Boatmen’s Association), which 

is responsible for the mooring and 

unmooring of seagoing vessels in Rotterdam 

and some other Dutch ports. 

ECT tested ShoreTension at its Delta 

Terminal and in April this year it acquired 

a 50% stake in a joint venture with KVRE, 

ShoreTension Holding (STH). It also acquired 

four stand-alone systems together 

with the associated hydraulic primers. 

The advantage of Shore Tension. says 

STH, is that the mooring rope tension 

can be monitored directly from the shore 

and the stevedore does not have to worry 

that the vessel’s self-tensioning winches 

are performing to standard. It is the difference 

in tension between the different 

mooring lines that cause a ship to move 

and potentially cause the mooring lines 

to snap. Even if the ship’s winches are 

working correctly, but adjusted for different 

tensions, problems may arise. 

ShoreTension dampens the ship’s 

motion and absorbs its energy. As a result, 

vessels hardly move even in strong winds, 

swells, fast currents or in the wake of passing 

shipping traffic. Even in extreme conditions, 

the system is capable of preventing 

mooring lines from snapping. 

The ShoreTension cylinder exerts the 

same, constant pressure to the ship’s mooring 

lines fastened to the bollards on the 

quay. No on-going power is needed. An 

external hydraulic system, normally supplied 

from a specially equipped van, is 

required, but only at start-up to prime 

the unit to the correct tension prior to 

use. After that, the cylinder moves hydraulically 

in line with the forces to which 

the mooring line is exposed. 

The system provides high tension 

force and pays out the line, coping with 

peak loads without exceeding the line’s 

minimum breaking load (MBL). This 

dampens ship motion and absorbs the 

energy. When peak loads have passed, the 

unit heaves in the line with the energy 

stored and returns to its initial position. 

For additional security, ShoreTension is 

used in combination with a high-quality 

mooring line made of HMPE, a superstrong 

synthetic fibre. These mooring lines 

are issued to the ship from the shore. ❏ 

ShoreTension on test in Rotterdam 

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May 2013 39


news 


This shot of Delta DDE 2 shows how tight the Amazonehaven is, as the 

container barge is backing out. The grabs in the foreground are on a floating 

crane moored near the end of the EMO coal and iron ore terminal 

selves in the associated distribution 

park, although as yet there are 

no firm bookings. 

Opening up 

Currently the only deepsea market 

competitor to ECT is APMT, 

which operates on a 100-ha parcel 

(formerly known as Delta 

Sealand terminal) on the Delta 

terminal where ECT occupies the 

remaining 270-ha. ECT also operates 

the Euromax terminal on 

the Yangtzehaven, which is now 

the approach channel to the MVII 

terminals. Last year, ECT handled 

around 7.7M TEU in Rotterdam, 

including the City terminal in the 

Waalhaven (formerly known as 

Home terminal), while APMT 

handled 4M TEU. 

Now that the main construction 

work for MVII is complete, 

it will be possible to extend 

Euromax into the newly reclaimed 

land area. 

ECT is currently refurbishing 

and upgrading the Delta terminal. 

It is understood to have ordered 

11 ZPMC cranes with a 24- 

wide deck coverage and a clear 

light height above quay of 50m. It 

has also ordered 11 ASCs from 

Kalmar and 22 hybrid drive AGVs 

from VDL as replacements for ageing 

equipment at Delta, but there 

is no indication where the STS 

cranes will be deployed. ECT declined 

WorldCargo News’ request 

for information. 

Steady going 

The last three years have seen 

Rotterdam’s container volumes 

relatively stable at around the 11M 

TEU level - 11.15M TEU, 

11.88M TEU and 11.87M TEU 

in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. 

While this is not the growth 

pattern the port enjoyed when 

MVII was planned, HBR is comfortable 

with these figures, noting 

that competing ports are in a similar 

position, if not worse. 

Antwerp, the third biggest 

container port in Europe, has remained 

consistent at around 8.5M 

TEU, while second place Hamburg 

saw bigger fluctuations. Its 

2010 throughput of 7.9M TEU 

jumped to 9M TEU in 2011 and 

fell back to 8.64M TEU last year. 

Containerised tonnage has 

grown faster than volumes, due to 

a reduction in empty backhauls to 

the Far East. The figure for Rotterdam 

was 125.4 Mt last year, 

marginally up from 123.6 Mt in 

2011 while the 2010 tonnage was 

over 10 Mt lower at 112.3 Mt. 

Containerised tonnage was the 

biggest segment after liquid bulk, 

comfortably above dry bulk, 

which fell slightly to 78.1 Mt. 

Container focus 

The port remains firmly focused 

on containers for long term 

growth. There is no provision for 

major bulk handling facilities on 

MVII as HBR considered there 

is sufficient capacity at the 

Waalhaven, Europoort and at 

Maasvlakte I, in the form of EECV, 

EMO and 15 smaller terminals 

such as Rotterdam Bulk Terminal, 

European Bulk Services, 

Marcor, ADM and so on. 

It also considers that the traditional 

staples of heavy bulk imports, 

such as thermal coal, iron 

ore and coking coal are in decline. 

While thermal coal handling is 

projected to remain stable, if not 

grow, for the next decade or so, 

fossil fuel power generation will 

eventually be overhauled by renewable 

energy. Even if biomass, 

a substitute for coal burning, takes 

over from coal, it will not need 

the heavy handling plant and large 

open stockyards that coal requires. 

The European steel making 

market is also changing. It will 

emerge as a far slimmer industry 

focused more on high grade rolled 

steels rather than trying to compete 

with basic steels, which will 

be imported from China and even 

from the US, where shale gas is 

driving down energy prices. 

MVII is about handling semiprocessed 

commodities and consumer 

goods carried in containers, 

and the logistics to sort, store 

and distribute this traffic, along 

with the formation of business 

park “clusters” to support these 

activities. There are advanced plans 

for developing an industrial park 

for a bio-based chemical industry 

on the site next to Lyondell. Together 

with partners, HBR is developing 

the infrastructure for the 

site, such as jetties and mains services 

connections for gas, water, 

electricity etc. This approach, believes 

HBR, offers businesses the 

advantage of being able to concentrate 

on their core activities. 

Dukes of Alba 

HBR is placing mooring piles for 

ship-to-ship transfer, which it sees 

as a growing, but possibly, short 

term market. Demand for this type 

of activity is growing strongly, especially 

in the liquid bulk sector, 

due mainly to oil coming from 

Russia, which is shipped to Asia 

in larger tankers than the panamax 

size that can access the Baltic. 

There is also interest from the 

dry bulk sector, particularly for 

grains and other agri-bulks, while 

the area could also be employed 

for biomass transhipment from 

transatlantic bulkers to barges for 

delivery to Dutch and German 

inland power plants. This activity, 

on a limited scale, is currently carried 

out in the Waalhaven, which 

is limited in space and also entails 

a long passage upriver for the deep 

sea vessel. HBR is investing 

around €10M in the moorings and 

they will be ready next year. 

Financing 

With MVII phase 1 now opened, 

HBR has been able to determine 

the actual costs. In 2006 it was estimated 

that €1.7B would be spent 

on the first phase. On top of that, 

due to the project’s complexity 

and size, a “contingency” of 

€200M was added to allow for 

setbacks and deviations from the 

plan, taking the budget to €1.9B. 

It appears that the first phase came 

in at €1.55B, or €150M under 

budget, while the €200M contingency 

fund was not necessary. 

The net result of the port authority 

in 2012 was almost 

€228M, some €33M above the 

figure for 2011. CFO Paul Smits 

noted: “These figures imply we 

The first two ASCs from Hans Kuenz have been erected at APMT’s MVII 

terminal. They are just visible in the middle of the picture on p39 (Photo: Provoice) 

can continue to invest in our port 

area. This is very important for 

development in the long-term. 

“At the same time it offers the 

opportunity to increase dividends 

to our shareholders [Rotterdam 

municipality 70% and the Dutch 

State 30%]. At the end of last year 

we had already agreed with the 

customers to reduce port dues to 

below the level of 2008.” 

The two most important 

sources of income are site leases 

or rents and port dues. Lease/ 

rental income increased by 9.3% 

to €291.7M, driven by the new 

leases on MVII, price indexation 

of current contracts, and the renewal 

of a number of contracts at 

more competitive prices. Port dues 

increased by 0.6% to €307.3M, 

which was a lower rate of growth 

than the increased throughput due 

to higher discounts. Considerable 

port due discounts also apply in 

2013. In total, operating income 

increased by 4.6% to €615.3M. 

A total of €625.7M was invested 

in the port in 2012, of 

which €394.1M related to MVII. 

Investments are thus higher than 

operating income, but in the next 

few years investment volume will 

be considerably lower as the first 

phase of MVII is over and it will 

generate lease income.. 

The port has proposed a dividend 

of €85.6M. In addition to 

its share of that, the Dutch State 

has also been “repaid” €290M of 

its original contribution to the 

construction of MVII. The favourable 

financial returns provided the 

opportunity to reduce the debt 

eight years earlier than was originally 

agreed in 2005. ❏ 

Maasvlakte II panorama in April 2013. (Photo: Aeroview) 

40 

May 2013


Antwerp looks to take a left turn 

Along with other ports in the Hamburg-Le 

Havre range, Antwerp’s 

2012 performance was relatively 

stable, with a total of 184 Mt handled (- 

1.6%). Container traffic was off by 0.3% 

to 8.64M TEU, although containerised 

tonnage fell by 1% to 104 Mt. This 1:12 

TEU/tonnage underscores the port’s continuing 

“cargo generation” role relative 

to other leading North Continent ports. 

The 1Q/2013 results appear satisfactory, 

but show some alarming trends. Total 

throughput was up by 1.4% to 47 Mt, 

with liquid bulk traffic up by 37.4% to 

14.21 Mt, a port record. However, dry 

bulk throughput fell by 33.2% to 3.56 Mt, 

with coal traffic plunging by 69% to 

536,000t and iron ore tonnage down by 

12.4% to 581,600t. In unit and tonnage 

terms, container traffic fell respectively by 

3% to 2.13M TEU and by 5.7% to 25.46 

Mt, resulting in a weaker TEU/tonnage 

ratio of 1:11.9. This points to ongoing 

weakness of the European economy. 

Land bank 

Antwerp has a significant land bank, occupying 

around 1070-ha on the left bank 

of the Schelde, where the existing enclosed 

docks are relatively underutilised 

and in some cases, such as the Doeldok 

and Verrebroekdok, uncompleted. A key 

reason is that access is dependent on just 

one lock, the Kallo Lock. The construction 

of a second lock access could transform 

the prospects for the Left Bank. 

Arguably this new access should have 

followed on from the construction of the 

Deurganckdok, and cut into the end wall 

of this tidal dock, where PSA occupies 

one side and DP World Antwerp Gateway 

the other. At the time, however, the 

port was anxious to expand its container 

handling capacity due to rapidly increasing 

demand. Although a lock at the end 

of the dock was included in the plans, 

the finance, estimated at €340M lock, was 

not in place and was not actively sought. 

Subsequently the European Investment 

Bank stepped in with a 50% soft loan, with 

the remainder split between the City of 

Antwerp, the Flanders region and the Belgian 

national government. Measuring 

500m x 68m and with a sill depth of 17.8m, 

the new lock is claimed to be the largest in 

the world. More importantly, it will take 

pressure of the Kallo Lock. 

As the Kallo Lock is working at full 

capacity even though some of the port 

zones it gives access to are underutilised, 

it follows that overall utilisation levels cannot 

increase unless and until alternative 

access is provided. The port forecasts that 

Left Bank tonnage throughput could increase 

from 16 Mt in 2011 to around 25 

Mtpa by 2020 due to the new lock. It is 

scheduled for completion by 2016 and, 

because of its location, will offer easier 

and quicker access to the docks. 

Ambitious plans 

The port has ambitious plans for the 

1070-ha Saeftinghe Development Area to 

the north of the existing port. The definitive 

allocation of land for maritime, 

industrial or logistics activities will be 

decided later, but other investments are 

already agreed. These include the Schijns 

and Waasland logistics parks, new rail infrastructure 

including the Liefkenshoek 

rail tunnel under the Schelde, which will 

link directly to the main marshalling area 

on the Right Bank. It is also proposed to 

develop a 60-ha logistics site at the 

Verrebroekdok, which will be extended. 

The port has not “given up” on the 

tidal Saeftinghedok, which would be sited 

parallel with the Deurganckdok, but there 

is no definite time frame. The development 

has run into serious environmental 

objections, particularly as the Deurganckdok 

is underutilised. As reported on 

worldcargonews.com in March, the port has 

fined Antwerp Gateway and PSA a total 

of €13.48M because they are short of the 

tonnage commitments in their respective 

concession agreements signed in 2003. 

This was the first penalty charge levied 

in five years and, in theory, they could 

have been fined a total of €67M. 

In-house expansion 

Expansion is currently under way on the 

Left Bank without port master planning. 

Antwerp Euroterminal, a joint venture of 

Grimaldi and Mexiconatie, is lengthening 

the quay length beyond 1600m. 

The terminal is a hub for both 

Grimaldi’s north-south traffic and the 

transatlantic service of it affiliate ACL, and 

it also caters for Finnlines’ busy Antwerp 

service. The quay extension will make it 

easier to accommodate ACL’s five ‘G4’ 

con-ro newbuildings, due in 2015. 

Opposite Antwerp Euroterminal in 

the Vrasenedok, EuroFruitPorts, the new 

multi-purpose refrigerated fruit terminal, 

recently completed its cold store facilities 

on schedule, occupying 13,600 m 2 . 

As previously reported, EuroFruitPorts is 

a joint venture of Euroports Group and 

2006 

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2010 



2011 



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Launched and in Operation 

Marseille-based importer and trader 

Compagnie Fruitière. Construction began 

last September and the facility handled 

its first vessel in January. 

The site occupies 38,700 m 2 and is adjacent 

to the original Westerlund timber 

terminal (also Euroports.) On build-out it 

will also provide two 8100 m 2 dry cargo 

warehouses, a 17,500 m 2 CY with 500 

reefer plugs and reefer repair facilities. ❏ 

View of the new lock construction, showing 

the PSA office (white building) and Doeldok 

at the top and Deurganckdok on the right. 

Subsequent dredging of Deurganckdok will 

enable the terminals there to be extended. The 

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May 2013 41


news 


Amsterdam spreading its wings 

In April the Port of Amsterdam 

became incorporated, 

with City of Amsterdam as the 

sole shareholder. The new status 

enables the port authority 

to act autonomously and 

more quickly, and have access 

to new funding sources. 

The port, which was previously 

an internal division of the 

city, has already adopted a new approach 

regarding land bank accumulation. 

It has a target of handling 

125 Mtpa by 2026 on the 

Multi trailer Tractor 

Rail-Road Vehicle 

Stand C62 

same surface area as today, and at 

the same time it is looking for 

“value, not volume.” This is a relatively 

new approach in the regional 

context, as traditionally port 

authorities derive most revenue 

from concessions, rents and leases. 

Of Antwerp’s 2012 turnover of 

€2.768B, for example, the largest 

contributor by far at 47% was 

“concessions” - that is, the revenue 

generated by terminal leases. 

The “new” port inherited the 

long-standing dossier for a new 

PORT EQUIPMENT 

MOL CY nv 

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and bigger sea lock and this is a 

step closer to reality following approval 

of the scheme by the Dutch 

Minister of Infrastructure and 

Environment, Melanie Schultz 

van Haegen. The outline financing 

package is now in place, with 

the port contributing E130M, the 

local province E458M and the 

government a further E574M. 

The new lock, measuring 

500m x 65m and with a sill depth 

of 18m, will replace the existing 

Noordersluis, which currently 

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handles around 80% of the port’s 

traffic. When the latter lock was 

constructed in 1929, it was the 

largest lock in the world at 400m 

x 50m x 15m sill depth. The new 

lock will be sited between the 

Noordersluis, and the 1896-built 

Middensluis, measuring 225m x 

25m x 10m sill depth. If construction 

starts on schedule in 2015, the 

lock should be completed in 2019. 

The Noordersluis will be 

mothballed and activated only in 

the event of a “calamity” or downtime 

for maintenance in the new 

lock. Navigational restrictions on 

two large ships passing each other 

in the North Sea Canal make it 

impractical to keep both locks 

open, on the basis of “one in and 

one out.” The Middensluis and the 

even older and smaller Zuidersluis 

will remain open, for barges 

and small coasters only. 

At the same time as the lock is 

under construction, the port is 

planning to build an outer harbour 

breakwater structure outside the 

locks for lightering capesize 

bulkers to facilitate navigation in 

the ship canal. While the sill depth 

is 18m, maximum canal draught 

will probably be restricted to 

14.5m in the short to medium 

term until dredging, where possible, 

of the canal is implemented. 

Green shoots 

Last year, Amsterdam recorded a 

growth of 1.3% overall, a positive 

performance given the results of 

some of its neighbouring ports. In 

all, some 94.3 Mt were handled 

by Amsterdam and its affiliated 

ports on the North Sea Canal of 

Beverwijk, Zaandam and Velsen/ 

Ijmuiden. If the latter facilities are 

stripped out, Amsterdam proper 

recorded an impressive growth, 

given the general economic conditions, 

of 3% to reach 77 Mt, the 

highest since the port’s 2008 peak. 

Much of the growth is attributed 

to liquid bulk, as the port is 

now promoting storage, but not 

processing, of oils. Coal remained 

stable at 15.6 Mt, while agri-bulk 

dropped 15% to 6.8 Mt. Biomass 

is a potential new traffic. If it displaces 

coal imports, at under half 

the mass of coal it will require 

more ship calls to provide the generators 

with the same thermal 

energy as coal. 

A test biomass cargo was discharged 

from a bulker loaded in 

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wood pellets for RWE, with the 

cargo split between its Dutch 

power station at Geertruidenberg 

and also transhipped to Tilbury. 

A problem the port faces is that 

while it abuts the largest city in 

the Netherlands, it is still very 

much a “regional” port in terms 

of general cargo. Leaving coal 

trains aside, Amsterdam has never 

really “exploited” the potential of 

a wider hinterland, although Ter 

Haak operates a container barge 

shuttle along the North Sea Canal 

from Ijmuiden to its USA 

(United Stevedores Amsterdam) 

terminal for reefer containers carrying 

fresh fish from the Ijmuiden 

fishing market. 

These are loaded on its own 

barges at its terminal adjacent to 

the fish docks using a long wheelbase 

reach stacker with a negative 

lift attachment. Ter Haak accounts 

for most of the container traffic 

handled in Amsterdam. 

Cocoa pops 

The establishment by Ter Haak 

and Katoen Natie of a “cocoa 

shuttle” train to Berlin from the 

port (WorldCargo News, April 2013, 

p1) shows that “niche” intermodal 

opportunities exist and the port 

wants to exploit them. 

A seemingly unlikely generator 

might be coal traffic. The coal 

terminals already dispatch substantial 

volumes by rail, and the volume 

is anticipated to increase to 

2.5 Mtpa with implementation of 

new terminal loading infrastructure 

and new marshalling and 

consolidation rail yards. 

At present there is not enough 

“aggregation” to support more 

container block trains, but it might 

be possible to couple container 

wagons to coal trains. As demand 

for intermodal services grows, 

block trains to certain destinations 

might become viable. In the 

meantime the port is prepared to 

act as a “facilitator” to bundle traffic 

in “cross-chain logistics.” 

This is already happening with 

the cocoa train. Cocoa shipper 

Cargill is providing the base load, 

but there are third party slots available 

on the service, and these 

might prove attractive for 

groupage operators, particularly 

when the frequency of the shuttle 

is doubled to twice/week. ❏ 

Zeebrugge in the frame 

If there is such a thing as a short 

sea hub port in Europe, it is 

Zeebrugge. P&O Ferries and 

Transfennica have extended their 

cooperation and now offer a joint 

landbridge service for accompanied 

and unaccompanied trailers 

between Spain and England, with 

Zeebrugge as the pivot. 

P&O Ferries provides daily 

services between Zeebrugge and 

Hull, Teesport and Tilbury. On 

Tuesdays and Thursdays 

Transfennica sails between Zeebrugge 

and Bilbao. Customers can 

through book between the UK 

and Spain. Transfennica’s vessels 

call at P&O’s 113-115 terminal. 

Finnlines has started a weekly 

service linking Rostock, Zeebrugge 

and Bilbao, as an alternative 

to long-haul trucking. DFDS 

Logistics is operating a weekly 

container service linking Moss 

with Zeebrugge and Immingham. 

Between them the four Belgian 

seaports accounted for 134.1 

Mt of shortsea shipping traffic in 

2012, just 0.85% less than in 2011, 

despite the deteriorating economic 

climate in Europe, but still 

13% higher than the disastrous 

year of 2009. Shortsea shipping 

accounted for 52% of overall volume 

in the ports. 

“Extended gate” 

On the deepsea side, APM Terminals 

Zeebrugge has launched an 

“extended gate” service, which 

provides a direct seagoing barge 

or train connection from 

Zeebrugge to Antwerp. 

Deepsea vessels discharging in 

Zeebrugge instead of Antwerp 

save 12 hours sailing time. Under 

the programme, barges and trains 

synchronised with mother ship 

calls in Zeebrugge discharge containers 

in a dedicated area in the 

trimodal terminal on the right 

bank in Antwerp. 

Barge and rail services between 

Zeebrugge and Antwerp have previously 

been available, but APM 

Terminals says that it will manage 

and operate the new service 

without any planning required 

from the shipping line. The operator 

states that its end-to-end 

process management will provide 

shipping lines to plan in an additional 

slow-steam without any disadvantage 

for cargo owners. 

Maersk Line started using the 

service when it went “live.” All 

containers destined to Antwerp 

were discharged from the mother 

vessel in Zeebrugge and transferred 

by barge or rail to Antwerp. 

APMT Zeebrugge recently 

signed an MOU with China Shipping 

Terminals for a 24% share. 

The transaction is expected to 

close in June. Currently, APMT 

Zeebrugge holds a 75% stake, as 

25% was sold to Shanghai International 

Port Group in 2010. ❏ 

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42 

A205-AdTOC2013-WorldCargoNews-Radar.indd 1 2013 May 24 10:23:46 

May 2013


Looking to fulfil their potential 

In theory the two parts of the Zeeland 

Seaports, Terneuzen and Vlissingen, are 

well placed on either side of the Scheldt 

estuary to take advantage of capturing 

some of Antwerp’s deep sea traffic. In 

practice, this does not appear to be the 

case and the ports serve their respective 

hinterlands, particularly the industries attracted 

to this region of Holland. There is 

considerable barge traffic between 

Zeeland ports and Antwerp and further 

into the Belgium/Dutch canal network, 

but mainly for domestic cargoes. 

Last year Zeeland Seaports (ZSP) recorded 

a 4% drop in overall seagoing tonnage 

to 34 Mt, although CEO Hans van 

der Hart notes that “mid 2012, we were 

down 8%, so the figures were quite satisfactory 

in the end, especially when we 

take results of surrounding ports into consideration.” 

Barge traffic increased 12%, 

taking total volumes to around 70 Mt. 

ZSP wants to increase seaborne cargo 

to 50 Mtpa and inland shipping throughput 

to 40 Mt by 2020. To achieve this, the 

port argues, it will need a deep sea container 

terminal. The ports already handle 

some containers, with tonnage increasing 

7% last year to 202,000t. Most containers 

are handled at the Katoen Natie 

shortsea/barge terminal located adjacent 

to the large Dow Chemicals plant at 

Terneuzen, which provides the main 

cargo source, with very little third party 

traffic accommodated. 

Looking west 

Van der Hart is confident that “container 

handle will remain a spearhead [of port 

strategy]. The Westerschelde Container 

Terminal project (WCT) is still in the picture. 

In the meantime, together with other 

companies, we are looking at possibilities 

to realise a terminal within the existing 

docks. This is really important.” 

The CCO, Dick Gilhuis, endorses this: 

“We are convinced that containerisation 

is necessary for the growth of all trade 

and industry. Therefore, we have to think 

about container facilities in our port.” 

However, Gilhuis noted that he was not 

talking about facilities on the scale of 

WCT, but about a smaller scale container 

terminal in Vlissingen. 

“A WCT-scale facility will become 

important longer term. We have to have 

such a terminal to serve our customers in 

a better way. A small terminal will handle 

around 500,000 TEU. ” According to the 

CCO, negotiations with various parties 

are looking quite promising. 

Gilhuis calculates that current northern 

European container handling capacity 

is around 60M TEU, which will increase 

to around 100M TEU by 2020. 

“Looking at these figures, one may wonder 

whether we still have to develop a 

major container terminal, such as WCT. 

That is why we will not embark upon 

such a venture yet. But a terminal is built 

to last for 40 years or so. If we stop the 

plans now, we will come up against quite 

another problem in the future.” 

Tactical withdrawal 

These cautious remarks reflect what is actually 

happening on the ground. The partners 

behind the Scaldia Terminal Operator 

(STO) container terminal have pulled 

out of the venture, stating that “the market 

we aimed at has collapsed...As the recession 

spread, container lines became 

ever more reluctant to move to Flushing.” 

STO was to be established on a 55- 

ha site by the Antwerp-based stevedoring 

company Zuidnatie in conjunction with 

the Ghent-based group Sea-Invest, with 

the latter holding a 70% stake. 

It is widely anticipated that the dominant 

Zeeland operator, Verbrugge, which 

last year handled over 15 Mt at the two 

ports, will take at least 13-ha of the site 

earmarked for STO, to which it may add 

at a later date (see also p56). Verbrugge recently 

secured a major contract to handle 

cellulose imports from Eldorado Brazil 

Cellulose, which recently commissioned 

the largest single-line pulp mill in 

the world, with a capacity of 1.5 Mtpa. 

A substantial part of this will shipped 

from Santos, Brazil to the Scaldiahaven 

in Vlissingen, where it will be stored and 

subsequently transported to the paper and 

Mainstream container handling remains 

an elusive target for Zeeland Seaports 

tissue industries in the hinterland. 

Verbrugge will act as the European logistics 

hub for this traffic. It secured the 

contract in the face of strong competition, 

particularly from Antwerp. 

Invest at the bottom 

Despite the financial crisis and the economic 

recession, Verbrugge Terminals 

continues to investing substantially in its 

Vlissingen and Terneuzen sites. Last year, 

the operator invested €45M in expanding 

its terminal in Terneuzen, while in 

2011 similar amounts were put towards 

the expansion of Verbrugge Terminals in 

the new Scaldiahaven in Vlissingen, where 

Verbrugge was the first operator. 

Since 2007, the company has invested 

€165M in its facilities at both ports. In 

all, Verbrugge has three terminals in 

Vlissingen and Terneuzen, comprising 

over 1M m 2 of covered storage facilities. 

Typical bulk handling operation in Terneuzen 

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May 2013 43


news 


Pictures from Ghent - left: agribulk terminal; 

and, right, DFDS Gothenburg service ro-ro 

ship in the Mercatordok. ZSP now supports 

Ghent’s call for a second and larger sea lock 

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There is overcapacity on the market, so 

this is a good time to build warehouses.” 

Last year, the company invested €40M 

in seven new warehouses for paper and 

metal products. It considers them as “longterm 

investments covering at least 25 

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between Pacorini, a Glencore 

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to Zeeland Seaports by the ship canal. 

Every ship that is bound for Terneuzen 

or Ghent must navigate the sea lock. Indeed, 

the overlap between the two ports 

can be confusing. Cargill, for instance, installed 

four new maize silos last year at its 

plant at Sas van Gent on the ship canal to 

receive ocean going shipments, yet this 

area falls under ZSP rather than Ghent. 

While Ghent has been pushing for a 

new sea lock for some time, ZSP now 

supports this development as it could 

stimulate further development at 

Terneuzen. The Westsluis dock is not only 

the smallest sea lock in the Hamburg-Le 

Havre range, but also the most heavily 

used with a utilisation rate in excess of 

70%. This eaves little time for regular 

maintenance and requires precise traffic 

management to reduce congestion. 

Agreement of the financing of the 

new lock, which will measure 427m x 

55m x 16 m sill depth, has now been 

agreed, with the port of Ghent already 

making provisions for its contribution on 

its balance sheet. A two year environmental 

impact study (EIS) will now be undertaken, 

of which €4M of the total 

€7.85M cost will be funded by the EU. 

Assuming a favourable EIS, it will be followed 

by a 5-year construction period for 

a 2020 commissioning date at the latest. 

Seine-Nord 

The other main infrastructure which involves 

the port, the construction of the 

Seine-Scheldt (Seine-Nord) canal may be 

nearer clarification. The project was signed 

off by French President Sarkozy with 

completion scheduled for 2017. However, 

when the Hollande Administration came 

to power in France it decided to audit on 

all major infrastructure investments. 

This is expected to be completed by 

mid-2013 and France will then apply for 

a larger EU subsidy. If this is secured, the 

canal, which will be able to handle barges 

up to 4500dwt, should be commissioned 

by 2019, linking the Paris basin with the 

Flemish seaports. 

Ghent is cautious in the short term. 

Having topped its all time record of 50 

Mt in 2011, it slipped back to 49.5 Mt 

last year, although a drop of 1.2% cannot 

be considered too bad given the performance 

of nearby ports. This figure includes 

both seaborne and inland waterway traffic, 

which last year increased 1.3% to 23.2 

Mt. Marine trade fell 3.2% to 26.3 Mt. 

The drop in cargo is, however, not reflected 

in the port’s financial performance. 

Last year the port’s revenues increased 

from €30.4M to a record €31M, generating 

€8M profit. Of its total revenue, some 

35% was attributed to lease payments, 

while 34% was earned through ship dues. 

One growth area is containers, with 

Ghent Container Terminals, operated by 

Multilink,, recording a growth of 9% last 

year to 88,160 TEU from the 2011 

throughput of 80,100 TEU. In terms of 

tonnage, growth is even better at 13.5% 

with 618,880t handled. Terminal facilities 

are modest with shoreside handling 

carried out by a harbour mobile crane. 

Slow starter 

The port admits that 2013 “got off to a 

shaky start,” with throughput dropping 

3.6% to 11.6 Mt compared to the correspondingly 

period last year. However, the 

port also noted a year ago that “total cargo 

traffic had a poor start to 2012.” In the 

first quarter this year, a total of 6 Mt of 

seaborne traffic was handled, a drop of 

almost 4% compared with 1Q/2012. 

As last year, the port recorded a 

monthly average of 2 Mt for seaborne 

cargoes in the first three months, although 

January saw a decrease, February an increase, 

but there was a further decrease in 

the total volume of cargo traffic in March. 

Inland barge volumes, at 5.6 Mt were 

down 3.3% to 200,000t. ❏ 

44 

May 2013


Betting on Black in uncertain times 

Since 2000, liner shipping companies, logistics 

service providers and global terminal 

operators have rushed to gain a 

foothold in the burgeoning economies of 

Turkey and the wider Black Sea region, 

as rising levels of industrial production, 

rapidly expanding inward investment and 

wide-ranging political and economic reforms 

boosted this area’s importance in 

the global trading arena. 

While securing a presence has not always 

proved easy and profitable for either 

liner shipping companies or terminal 

operators, container traffic has generally 

risen. However, both Turkish and 

Black Sea ports suffered heavily in 2009, 

with the former’s container throughput 

falling 13.5% to 4.52M TEU, compared 

with the previous year. Black Sea ports 

posted an even more dismal performance 

as their container traffic crashed more than 

40%, falling from 2.55M TEU in 2008 to 

1.49M TEU in 2009. 

“The banking and economic crisis hit 

the Black Sea container market hard, actually 

very hard,” said Eero Vanaale, a consultant 

at London-based Drewry Maritime 

Advisors, addressing delegates at the 

Port Finance International Black Sea conference 

held in Istanbul earlier this year. 

“The low demand for the region’s exports, 

the lack of cash for imports and 

various governments’ recession and austerity 

measures mean that total volumes 

have still not recovered to their 2008 

level,” he added. 

Fewer direct calls 

In general, fewer direct-call liner services 

are in place as carriers have suspended 

operations, regrouped and in several cases 

returned to relaying the smaller volumes 

of cargo moving via ports in the Istanbul 

region, Port Said and elsewhere in the 

eastern Mediterranean. 

However, a pick-up in activity has 

been noted over the past 12 months and 

the average size of vessel deployed has 

increased as ocean carriers have sought 

to reduce their unit costs by employing 

bigger ships. 

Hence, the group comprising China 

Shipping Container Lines, Yang Ming, K 

Line, PIL and Wan Hai Lines now uses 

ships of 5,600 TEU in its Asia/Black Sea 

service while the G6 Alliance deploys 9x 

6,200 TEU class units in its weekly Asia 

Black Sea Express loop. 

Vanaale was confident that demand in 

the region would recover and that port 

authorities, terminal operators and state 

bodies need to continue investing in their 

ports and transport infrastructure. 

At the Romanian port of Constantza, 

for instance, container volumes have risen 

almost 23% since the nadir in 2010 when 

traffic dropped to 556,694 TEU. Nonetheless, 

the near 685,000 TEU handled 

in 2012 was well down on the record 

1.4M TEU handled in 2007. 

Market Growth 

The Drewry consultant projected that 

up to 2017, Eastern Europe would be 

among the fastest growing container 

markets in the world, posting annual 

growth rates of at least 10% over this 

period. This compares with forecasted 

rises of less than 2.5% a year for northern 

Europe and 7% per year rises for 

both the Far East and Africa. 

Vanaale believes these rates of growth 

exceed planned capacity increases, an issue 

that needs to be addressed if the region 

is to achieve its potential. He concluded: 

“There are scarce quality investment 

opportunities as the fundamentals 

in the region’s port sector remain robust.” 

The traffic growth figures in Turkey 

also look impressive but the situation regarding 

future development appears very 

different. In 2000, the country’s ports handled 

just over 1.6M TEU, a figure that 

had risen to 7.2M TEU last year, equivalent 

to a compound annual growth rate 

over this period of more than 14%. 

This year, the country’s box traffic is 

expected to expand by 8-9% and then average 

between 7% and 8% a year over the 

next decade or so. This is well above the 

global annual average projection made by 

analysts, which stands in the 4-5% range. 

This optimistic scenario will be fuelled 

by the Turkish Government’s plan to tri- 

After mixed fortunes in recent years there 

is optimism for the future of Turkish and 

Black Sea ports, but is too much capacity 

being built, particularly in Turkey 

ple the nation’s GDP between 2010 and 

2023 and the considerable investment 

planned in new industrial parks, agricultural 

ventures and infrastructure projects. 

Huseyin Sipahioglu, an independent 

consultant specialising in ports, and 

a former employee at the ports of 

Mersin and Iskenderun, thinks box 

traffic is set for consistent growth, but 

he is concerned that there is a risk of 

container handling capacity getting out 

of control in the country. 

Speaking at the aforementioned conference 

in Istanbul, he said: “Only 60% of 

Throughput at Constantza recovered to 

685,000 TEU in 2012, but this figure was 

still down on the 1.4M TEU handled in 2007 


news 

May 2013 45


news 

Robert Yildirim believes that Turkey has 

significant potential, but is concerned about the 

number of terminal schemes in prospect 

46 

the country’s current capacity of 12M 

TEU was utilised in 2012, yet private port 

operators are adding 10.2M TEU and the 

Government is planning to build at least 

19.6M TEU of extra capacity over the 

next 10 years or so. This is a massive 142% 

increase on present day capacity levels.” 

Jonathan Beard, chairman and CEO 

of Catoni Group of Companies, one of 

Turkey’s largest ship agency firms, did not 

share this view. He argued that the nation’s 

infrastructure, including its ports, 

needed to be improved and expanded so 

that Turkey would be able to support its 

economic growth and trading potential. 

“With this country’s GDP forecast to 

rise three-fold by 2023, our container traffic 

could grow between five and six times 

the level it is now,” he said. “Potentially, 

that means having the capacity to handle 

over 42M TEU within the next 10 years. 

“In addition, Turkey has the potential 

to become a central transport, freight logistics 

and trading hub for the greater region, 

as it has the population, scale of 

business and industry and political stability 

for this to work. It means that the state’s 

large-scale port plans at Candarli, Filyos 

and Mersin plus the new railroads and 

pipelines will be critical in this process.” 

More privatisation 

The Government, meanwhile, is pressing 

ahead with its port privatisation programme. 

According to Yesim Kurna, head 

of the project group at the Privatisation 

Administration, seven ports controlled by 

either the Turkish Maritime Organisation 

or the General Directorate of State Railways 

are in various states of readiness. 

“We are entering the third era of port 

privatisation in Turkey,” she said, “having 

already raised US$226M from phase one 

and US$1.43B from stage two, which included 

the sale of the concession at 

Mersin to PSA International/Akfen for 

US$755M in 2007.” 

Among the general cargo and container 

ports that will be privatised under 

this next phase, the sale of Tekirdag 

is the most advanced. At Derince and 

Izmir, both of which had their privatisation 

tenders cancelled in 2010, zone 

planning studies are underway in advance 

of new documents being issued, 

according to Kurna. 

Robert Yildirim, chairman of the 

Yildirim Group, which owns Yilport – the 

biggest operator of ports and terminals 

in Turkey – agrees that the country has 

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significant potential, but he is concerned 

about the rapid expansion in the container 

port sector, especially in regions, such as 

the eastern Mediterranean. 

“We have looked at several projects 

in the Bay of Iskenderun but have decided 

not to put money into directly 

building ports/terminals here because of 

the number of schemes being talked about 

and the high risks involved,” he said. 

“But that does not rule out our company’s 

participation in managing such facilities 

and/or buying/helping them out 

with handling equipment. Our logistics 

company ETi, which runs various rail 

services and is building inland cargo service 

centres in the region, can also help 

local shippers and consignees streamline 

and improve their supply chains.” 

Overcapacity 

Yildirim’s concerns are perhaps understandable 

given that in 2012 the Eastern 

Mediterranean region processed just 

1.3M TEU but has between 7M and 12M 

TEU of new capacity being developed 

over the next 10-12 years. 

The main projects comprise: 

● Mersin – raising capacity of the existing 

PSA/Akfen operation from 1.7M 

TEU to 2.5M TEU. 

● Mersin International Port – Government-sponsored 

plan to build a facility 

capable of handling up to 10M TEU annually. 

Initially, US$370M will be spent 

on constructing just over 3 km of quay 

line and a yard area sufficient for processing 

4M TEU/year. It is hoped that this 

will be operational in 2016. 

● Various private projects – largely based 

on a number of existing finger piers and/ 

or greenfield beaches. A potential addition 

of 2.5M to 4M TEU could be developed 

in the next five-six years. 

● Assan Port – increasing handling capacity 

from a current 250,000 TEU/year to 

450,000 TEU/year in 2014. MSC is its 

main customer with CMA CGM also 

using the port. 

● Limak Iskenderun – The company secured 

the 36-year operating and investment 

concession in late 2011 and commenced 

container handling operations in 

March 2013 with a design capacity of 

600,000 TEU/year. This will be expanded 

to 1.3M TEU by the end of this year, with 

phase 2, if it goes ahead, increasing the 

terminal’s capacity to 3M TEU/year. 

Yildirim’s main terminal investments 

are located in the Marmara Sea area of 

Turkey, a region described by the group’s 

chairman as being “at the very heart of 

the country’s container and general cargohandling 

activities.” Currently, this region’s 

ports, which include Marport, Evyap, 

Haydarpasa, Yilport, Derince and 

Gemport, process about 68% of Turkey’s 

national container throughput volumes. 

An estimated 13.6M TEU of new capacity 

is under development. 

Investments 

The Yildirim group has been strengthening 

its position in the region through a 

combination of capital expenditure and 

acquisitions. In the past 12 months the 

company has bought 86.6% of Gemport 

and all of RotaPort, the latter of which 

handles mainly bulk/breakbulk cargoes, 

including grain, cement and steel. 

Yilport is pumping more than 

US$200M into the latter as the port’s 

existing jetties are upgraded and its warehousing 

capacity expanded. 

“In this sector there is not so much 

competition around,” explained Yildirim, 

“and I view our plans as adding considerable 

weight to the existing port operation 

and as offering our customers better 

value services.” 

Yilport is also investing in its container 

terminals with four super post-Panamax 

ship-to-shore gantry cranes on order from 

the Japan-based manufacturer Mitsui. 

These will support Yilport’s second phase 

expansion programme and the upgrade 

plan at Gemlik. 

According to Sean Pierce, CEO of 

Yilport Holding, the new cranes will be 

delivered in January 2014 and will be able 

to service ships loaded with 23 containers 

across the weather deck. 

He said that Gemport and Gemlik will 

merge to become one of the biggest container 

handling complexes in the 

Marmara Sea area and this should allow 

us to offer a much better product by man- 

May 2013


aging prices and costs more effectively, 

while improving overall service levels to 

our customers. 

“We have a clear strategy and with a 

sizeable presence in Izmit Bay [Yilport 

Gebze] and Gemlik Bay, both of which 

serve the faster growing industries located 

on the Asian side of Istanbul, we 

are well positioned to handle the rising 

cargo volumes.” 

Attracting cargo 

Meanwhile, Yildirim highlighted the importance 

of the group’s metallurgical businesses 

and the close relationships it has 

developed with ocean carriers, including 

MSC and its direct investment in CMA 

CGM, as being “highly significant in 

drawing cargo to its ports”. 

As to the future, the ebullient Yildirim 

wants his port and terminals group to be 

a strong player in the top 20 port operators’ 

league with a decent global presence. 

“We are targeting up to three acquisitions 

a year, believing this is fully sustainable 

for our group,” he said. “Our focus 

is on brown field sites/existing terminals 

where we know we can raise productivity 

and operating performances, 

largely through better training and the introduction 

of new equipment. When this 

results in more business, then we move 

on to bigger infrastructural projects, including 

the wharves and yard areas.” 

Initially, the global strategy is focused 

on Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador 

and Chile) and West Africa where 

the company has existing and planned 

mining and trading activities and where 

efficient ports are an important element 

for the group’s supply chain. 

Compatriot terminal operator Arkas, 

which controls the Marport complex in 

Ambarli port and which handled 1.58M 

TEU last year, appears content to stay in 

Turkey when it comes to its port management 

operations. 

Larger vessels 

Recent years have seen the operator gear 

up the terminal to handle more large vessels, 

particularly from its primary customer 

MSC. “We extended the berthing line at 

our West Terminal by 64 km and also expanded 

the stacking areas and this allows 

us to handle the 14,500 TEU class ships 

that MSC bring into Turkey,” explained 

Alp Capa, trade and customer relations 

manager of the port services group. 

“We have also expanded our warehousing 

capacity as the LCL business from 

Asia has been growing rapidly and we 

have also seen a lot of breakbulk cargo 

coming into the port from Russia for containerisation, 

and then on-carriage.” 

In other moves, Marport has been 

making efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, 

according to Capa, “working ahead 

of more stringent laws eventually coming 

into effect in Turkey”. 

He explained: “We have spent about 

US$4.5M on electrifying 35 of our rubber-tyred 

yard gantry cranes and we have 

many other initiatives in place.” 

Looming challenge 

Marport’s biggest challenge though is 

dealing with the loss of at least 500,000 

TEU and perhaps as much as 800,000 

TEU of cargo when MSC shifts some of 

its cargo volumes to Aysaport, near 

Tekirdag. This facility is mainly for the 

use of MSC, having been developed by 

its port operating arm Terminal Investments 

Ltd (TIL). Operations at the 1M 

TEU capacity terminal are due to commence 

later this year with MSC expected 

to redirect most of its Black Sea transhipment 

business and some local cargo (for 

the Tekirdag area) to the port. 

International terminal operators have 

generally found Turkey challenging, with 

Hong-Kong headquartered Hutchison 

Port Holdings having had its concession 

at Izmir cancelled in 2010 and Dubai’s 

DP World still resolving issues and facing 

severe delays in its plans to develop a 1.5M 

TEU capacity facility at Yarimca. 

Observers have pointed to land 

ownership issues in Turkey, a failure to 

lock down partnership agreements and 

the nation’s different legal system as potential 

sticking points for deals and the 

reasons why so many projects have been 

delayed and/or cancelled. 

PSA International, however, has enjoyed 

considerable success, with Mersin’s 

throughput having risen every year since 

the Singapore-based operator and its partner 

Akfen secured the concession in 2007. 

In 2012, a record 1.2M TEU was handled. 

Marport terminal in Ambarli faces the challenge 

of losing up to 800,000 TEU of cargo when 

MSC shifts most of its transhipment business 

and some local cargo to Aysaport, near Tekirdag 

Terminal development 

APM Terminals (APMT) is also happy 

with the progress being made on its 

project near Izmir, recently cementing a 

deal with Petkim Petrokimya Holding, a 

Turkey-listed petrochemicals company 

majority-owned the State Oil Company 

of Azerbaijan, to press ahead with development 

of a 1.5M TEU capacity terminal 

on land Petkim controls in Nemrut Bay. 

Initially, an estimated US$400M will 

be spent on the Aegean Gateway Terminal, 

which APMT will manage under a 

28-year concession agreement. The deal 

allows for a possible expansion of the facility’s 

design throughput capacity to 3M 

TEU/year and for the development of 

an on-dock rail yard. 

“This is an exciting opportunity for 

us and the region as a whole which needs 

a purpose-designed container terminal,” 

said Martijn van Dongen, head of European 

business development for APMT. 

“In this region the majority of 

containerships are being handled at 

smaller facilities with limited water depth 

and the available capacity is heavily utilised. 

Our new terminal will provide this 

much needed additional capacity while 

also raising levels of efficiency and pro- 


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news 

48 

An estimated US$400M will be spent on the 

3M TEU/year capacity Petkim Aegean 

Gateway Terminal, managed by APM 

Terminals under a 28-year concession deal 

ductivity.” He expects the first phase of 

the terminal to be fully operational in 

2015 and said that it was being built 

mainly to cater for the growing demands 

of the local region. 

Romanian growth 

Back in the Black Sea area, a huge amount 

of capital is being invested in Constantza, 

Romania, the largest port in the region. 

The government and the port authority 

have been successful in getting access to 

European Union (EU) financing, with 

many of the latter’s construction and improvement 

projects funded to the tune of 

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85% by the EU’s Operational Programme 

for Transport 2007-13. 

These include: 

● Expansion of the northern breakwater 

by 1,050m. The project will improve operating 

performances and productivity 

levels in the southern basin by decreasing 

wave activity. It will be completed during 

2014 and cost an estimated €144M. 

● The €43M construction of a new road 

bridge over the Danube Black Sea Canal 

– this will provide a connection between 

the northern and southern parts of the 

port complex and, via the Constantza ring 

road, a direct connection between the 

port and the Bucharest/Constantza highway. 

The work is scheduled to be completed 

by the end of 2013. 

● The creation of a so-called systematised 

rail complex in the river/maritime sector 

of the port. Estimated to cost €22M it 

will be completed by the end of 2015 

and will allow the port’s customers additional 

and competitive options to move 

their import/export cargo. 

In the longer-term the port authority 

is planning to expand the port by 

building Pier IIIs and Pier IVs adjacent 

to the current DP World-operated container 

terminal. 

According to National Company 

Maritime Ports Administration SA 

Constantza (MPA Constantza), the facilities 

will be for specialised cargoes 

and will be supported by a landside 

logistics park. It is understood that the 

Dutch Government is supporting the 

project. Various designs are under study. 

Danube gateway 

Ambroziu Duma, port operations director 

for MPA Constantza, is keen to exploit 

the port’s strategic location at the 

estuary of the Danube, believing that it 

has opportunities as a gateway and load 

centre, particularly for the trade lanes between 

Asia and central Europe. 

“Our 64.4 km long Danube Black Sea 

canal offers a seamless connection to the 

navigable waters of the river and can cut 

a massive 4,165 km off Far East/Europe 

routings via Benelux ports,” he said. 

“That’s a huge saving on bunker costs for 

ocean carriers and it’s much kinder to the 

environment.” 

Elsewhere in the Black Sea, developments 

in the container handling sector 

are more modest and typically involve 

cargo handling equipment purchases, general 

refurbishment and process improvement 

schemes. Nonetheless, at Russia’s 

Black Sea port of Novorossiysk significant 

capacity increases are planned. Delco 

group-owned NUTEP and Novoroslesexport, 

owned by the Novorossiysk 

Commercial Sea Port Group, are both in 

the midst of substantial capacity investment 

programmes at the port. 

Novoroslesexport’s project involves 

expenditure in excess of RUB6.5B 

(US$207M). This covers the cost of 

dredging its facilities at berths 28 and 

28A, purchasing a third ship-to-shore 

gantry crane, two mobile harbour 

cranes and additional support equipment 

for yard operations. A third rail 

track will be constructed to boost 

intermodal cargo movements. Overall, 

container handling capacity will be 

expanded to 700,000 TEU/year. 

Meanwhile, NUTEP – which handled 

215,307 TEU in 2012, up 7.6% on the 

previous year – is set to increase its design 

throughput capacity to 600,000 

TEU/year by 2015. This will be achieved 

by increasing the total berthing quay line 

from 754m to 900m and expanding the 

yard area to 35-ha. 

Rail upgrade 

Recently, NUTEP completed its rail upgrade 

programme by constructing a new 

yard and two loading/unloading tracks, 

meaning the facility can now process two 

block-trains each day. As the work meant 

a reconfiguration of the terminal’s existing 

rail network, the operator has been 

able to raise the stacking capacity of its 

yard to 11,000 TEU. 

In the Ukraine, dredging is in place at 

the country’s main sea ports and a 600,000 

TEU/year deep water terminal is going 

ahead in Odessa with HPC Ukraina, the 

HHLA affiliate that operates the port’s 

existing container terminal. 

In Georgia, APMT and Manilaheadquartered 

International Container 

Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) are both 

active, operating container terminals in 

Poti and Batumi respectively. At the latter 

port, ICTSI has the ability to quadruple 

the facility’s current throughput capacity 

to 400,000 TEU, a decision that will be 

taken in line with demand. 

At Poti, where APMT works with 

Rakia, the terminal operator has 

been investing in equipment, systems 

and training programmes in an effort 

to bring the terminal up to similar 

safety and productivity levels to 

other facilities in its global network. 

While the trading and investment 

opportunities in the region are encouraging, 

its general economic volatility 

means that uncertainty will prevail and 

matching supply and demand will always 

be extremely difficult. ❏ 

May 2013


Is Singapore going up in the world 

In October 2011 the Singapore Maritime 

Institute (SMI) and the Maritime Port Authority 

of Singapore (MPA) launched a 

“Next Generation Container Port Challenge” 

to “identify ideas that will achieve a 

quantum leap in port performance, productivity 

and sustainability for a new generation 

of container port.” They announced 

a US$1M prize for the winning entry. 

The “Next-Gen” container port had 

to be capable of handling 20M TEU a 

year (80% transhipment) on a 2.5 km x 

1km reclamation with a guaranteed berth 

on arrival (BOA) rate of 90% of ship calls. 

Dwell time was fixed at four days and KPIs 

were established in productivity (land and 

labour), environmental sustainability and 

financial sustainability. The US$1M wining 

entry was the “SINGA Port” concept 

from the National University of Singapore 

(NUS), Shanghai Maritime University 

(ShMU) and ZPMC. 

Two storey yard 

The most striking feature of the SINGA 

Port concept is its two storey yard system 

served by triple trolley STS cranes. The 

lower (ground) floor sees the return of 

the overhead bridge cranes as installed at 

Pasir Panjang phases I and II, although 

they would not be as high. The upper floor 

yard cranes would be automated RMGs 

with counterweight technology to reduce 

power consumption. “As there are cut outs 

between the two floors, a tailor-made 

RMG is used to move containers between 

the two floors besides its normal activity 

in handling containers in its respective 

block,” said Professor Lee Loo Hay, one 

of the designers from NUS. 

Having two separate yard areas is intended 

to increase overall capacity 

without overwhelming the quay-tostack 

interface. It creates more buffer 

spaces at handover points, improves 

traffic congestion and reduces the dependency 

between STS cranes and the 

horizontal transport system, which is a 

low-height straddle carrier called an 

Automated Lifting Vehicle (ALV). 

SINGA Port includes three options for 

the yard layout and crane orientation. “In 

one design layout,” said Professor Lee, “the 

container blocks are arranged in a perpendicular 

direction to the 2500m berth. 

In each block, the container lengths are 

perpendicular to the block length [ie parallel 

with the quay]. When the ALV picks 

up or discharges a container at the block 

area, it does not need to turn 90 deg to 

enter the handover area, which increases 

the efficiency of yard operations.” 

Triple trolley cranes 

SINGA Port proposes a triple hoist quay 

crane with tandem lift capability on the 

waterside hoist. The waterside trolley 

moves the two containers between the 

vessel and a lashing platform. There are 

two landside trolleys: one in the back 

reach serving the upper floor yard, and 

one on the lower crane portal serving the 

ground floor. 

The team calculates the cranes can 

achieve 38 cycles and “move 152 TEU 

per hour” by better utilising the potential 

of tandem crane operations. “Owing to 

two separate trolleys that serve the different 

floors and the transfer platform, the 

tandem lift technology can now be more 

practically used because the two containers 

do not need to be discharged side by 

side,” said Professor Lee. Quayside productivity 

could be further enhanced with 

a crane system that allows two booms 

across adjacent bays (as per APM Terminals’ 

FastNET concept), he noted, but this 

was not part of the proposal. 

The ALVs for horizontal transport are 

1-over-1 machines powered by a hybrid 

or fully electric drive. Two options are 

suggested for charging: fixed stations or 

an inductive loop in the ground. Professor 

Lee said at the moment inductive 

technology cannot support the power requirement, 

but that is expected to change 

within the next decade. 

Getting smart 

Overall power consumption will be managed 

by “smart electric power management.” 

In essence, grid supplied electricity 

will transform crane operation from a 

stand-alone mode to collective mode. 

The US$1M prize-winning entry in 

Singapore’s “Next Generation Container 

Port Challenge” contest uses a two-storey 

yard system and triple trolley cranes 

“Regenerative energy recovered from 

braking cranes can be shared among other 

cranes through the grid for achieving 

common economical and technical benefits 

as well as better overall energy efficiency,” 

said Professor Lee. 

Simulation results 

NUS used a queueing model to analyse 

quayside performance. Meeting the BOA 

target for a 20M TEU terminal required 

75 STS cranes, 400 ALVs and 250 yard 

cranes. Average equipment efficiencies 

required are: STS cranes 35 moves/hour, 

SINGA Port has a putative capacity, based 

on four days dwell time, of 20M TEU/year 

on a footprint of just 250-ha 


news 

May 2013 49


news 

A guaranteeed berth-on-arrival rate of 90% of ship calls is required 

yard cranes 16 moves/hour, ALVs 

8.8 moves/hour. Even with further 

increases in vessel size beyond 

Triple-E, the 90% BOA target can 

be achieved, added Professor Lee. 

New software 

The project team does not consider 

that the TOS software available today 

is suitable for SINGA Port. “We 

propose an intelligent management 

system that combines the smart 

electric power management, the 

terminal operating systems (TOS) 

and the equipment control system,” 

said the professor. 

As well as controlling all the 

equipment in real time, the 

equipment control system will 

provide real time information to 

the power management system 

to bring energy efficiency into 

yard planning. 

Cost-effective 

A big question is whether the design 

is economical. One reason 

bridge cranes never went beyond 

Singapore is the high cost of the 

concrete support structures. Supporting 

RMGs on an upper level 

would be even more expensive, 

but this has to be placed in the 

Singapore context where the Tuas 

Megaport will be built entirely on 

reclaimed land. 

Below ground level 

To reduce construction costs, the 

project team proposes an “indented 

yard” system where the 

lower level is actually below 

ground level. This reduces the 

amount of sand needed for reclamation. 

Cost depends on which 

of three yard layout options is selected, 

but is estimated at S$642M 

(US$841M) per berth. 

One issue that does not feature 

in the project criteria is the 

overall visual impact of the design. 

The bridge cranes already have a 

dense visual impact, and adding a 

second storey makes for an even 

taller structure. This might not be 

an issue for the new Tuas port, but 

would certainly be a problem at 

many city ports around the world. 

MPA and SMI will now work 

with terminal operators in Singapore 

to identify elements of the 

design to take forward for further 

design and testing work. “Depending 

on the outcome of these R&D 

activities, particular concepts or 

technologies could be considered 

for future new container terminals,” 

said the MPA. ❏ 

Singapore is quietly confident 

that automation will give it an 

advantage in the battle for 

transhipment traffic as bigger 

ships come on stream. 

The loss of Maersk and then 

Evergreen to Tanjung Pelepas in 

2000 not only dented Singapore’s 

confidence, but changed the PSA’s 

whole approach to technology. 

The PSA had spent a fortune developing 

overhead bridge cranes 

at its Pasir Panjang Terminal, but 

when PTP came on the scene it 

reverted to RTGs. 

The picture today is very different, 

even though there is more 

competition than ever - PTP 

Tanjung Pelepas handled 7.7M 

TEU last year (up 2.4%). Westport 

and Northport in Klang both have 

expansion plans and Indonesia has 

not given up on establishing a 

transhipment hub near Batam, on 

Singapore’s back door. But Singapore 

believes it can get a competitive 

advantage by leveraging automation 

and using software to 

make its terminals more efficient. 

Shipping lines continually remind 

ports that they need a step 

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and terminal equipment 

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Year 2008, 4500 mm, forkpositioner, 

sideshift. 

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Year 2007, airsuspension on rear 

axle, steel mudguards. 

Price € 58.000,- 

SMV 16-1200B 

Year 2008, 4000 mm, forkpositioner, 

sideshift, air condition. 

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Year 2004, 5 high, air condition, 

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change in productivity to meet the 

needs of bigger vessels. Singapore 

believes such an improvement is 

possible and, through the PSA, the 

Maritime Port Authority and 

other government-backed institutions, 

is investing heavily in software 

and systems for automation. 

PSA believes software is a competitive 

advantage and most of its 

applications, including its core 

CiTOS TOS, are proprietary. 

Robots versus RTGs 

PTP is currently adding two 

berths with a total length of 720m 

that will be equipped with eight 

STS cranes and 32 RTGs, a 1:4 

ratio. PTP’s first phase (which took 

it to 5M TEU) had 24 quay cranes 

and 72 RTGs, a 1:3 ratio. 

PSA is now equipping Phases 

III and IV at PPT with automated 

stacking cranes. When completed 

PSA will have 15 new 400m 

berths with a capacity of 15M 

TEU, boosting overall capacity to 

50M TEU. PSA is also working 

on AGV technology, although this 

is unlikely to feature when the first 

berths open next year. 

Maersk has already announced 

its first EEE vessels will call at PTP 

and not Singapore. The longer 

term question, however, is 

whether PTP can deliver the productivity 

needed. PTP’s rise was 

rapid, but it is now grappling with 

maintenance issues as its equipment 

ages. In its 2012 annual report, 

PTP’s majority owner MMC 

Corp notes that “for 2013, the 

focus will be on improving the 

port’s equipment availability and 

reliability to ensure capacity can 

be maximised to capture container 

demand.” PTP declined to comment, 

but why does Maersk still 

put so much through Singapore 

MMC knows that PTP has to 

lift its performance and cannot 

count on APM Terminals’ 30% 

stake to guarantee all of Maersk’s 

business. Commenting on the 

RM 1.6B it is spending to increase 

PTP’s capacity to 10.5M TEU, 

MMC group managing director 

Datuk Hasni Harun said the investment 

is to “show the company’s 

desire” to capture more of 

Maersk’s business. “Of the 7M 

TEU handled by PTP last year, 

about 6M TEU came from 

Maersk, a few million TEU of 

whose cargo was also handled by 

Singapore. If our ports are ready 

in terms of capacity and efficiency, 

those few million TEU may be 

moved to PTP,” he was quoted as 

saying in The Malaysian Insider. 


Singapore in pole position 

SMV 22-1200A 

Year 1998, 5000 mm, forkposition, 

sideshift. 

Price € 68.000,- 


Year 2006, 5 high, air condition, 

hydraulic moveable cabin, 

central lubrication. 

Price € 158.000,- 

Terberg TT222 

Year 2007, airsuspension on 

rear axle, logical steering, 

central lubrication, engine preheater. 


Price € 66.000,- 

ncnielsen 

The first berths of Phases III and IV at Pasir Panjang will be ready next year 

Northport refocuses 

At Port Klang, Northport and 

Westport are taking different approaches. 

Westport is pushing 

ahead aggressively with the completion 

of two new berths (CT6 

and CT7) and is part way through 

the reclamation for CT8 and CT9, 

which must be completed by 2014 

under its concession agreement. 

CT7 will have two 300m berths 

and Westport has ordered seven 

quay cranes and 42 RTGs for delivery 

early next year. 

Westport will have a capacity 

of 11M TEU when CT7 is completed 

and is promoting itself as 

ready for 18,000 TEU vessels. 

Throughput grew to 6.91M TEU 

last year and it is forecasting a further 

7% growth this year to 7.4M 

TEU. Much of this is driven by 

CMA CGM, which now accounts 

for 35% of Westport’s business, but 

some has come from Northport. 

Northport handled 3.08M in 

2012 and volumes fell 10% to 

675,755TEU in 1Q/20013. CEO 

Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid said the 

fall is mainly due to weaker exports 

and it is unclear whether 

these will recover this year. 

Northport is pushing on with its 

expansion plan and will add a new 

350m berth (8a) equipped with 

four cranes. This will take its quay 

line to 3.4 kms and total capacity 

to 5.6M TEU. Plans are now being 

made for an additional expansion 

to increase that to 7M TEU. 

Not too much 

Abi Sofian denies that Northport 

is adding too much capacity and 

said there is a mismatch between 

theoretical capacity based on 

berths and cranes and what it can 

actually achieve. Northport’s water 

depth ranges from 11m to 15m 

and only when berth 8a is complete 

will it be able to offer one 

350m berth with 17m of water. 

The cost of upgrading the 

older berths to handle larger vessels 

is not practical, but Northport 

has to provide for the tonnage that 

lines want to deploy to serve the 

cargo base. Northport, he said, is 

not in a race to keep up with PSA 

and PTP. “We have to create our 

own niche for mid-range vessels.” 

This leverages Northport’s position 

as a balanced port (48% exports, 

52% imports) to attract 

more regional transhipment business. 

There are many smaller ports 

developing in Indonesia, and 

Northport can offer lines a chance 

to get better vessel utilisation by 

combining its local cargo with 

transhipment moves. 

Not convinced 

As to whether there will be a productivity 

battle in the transhipment 

business, Abi Sofian is not 

convinced that lines are willing to 

pay for more productivity. Their 

main criteria at the moment are a 

berth on arrival, a fixed departure 

time, and a discounted rate, he said. 

Northport delivered an average of 

28 moves per crane hour last year 

and could do more, but this requires 

more prime movers than 

lines are willing to pay for. 

Northport also has a challenge 

meeting the needs of its bulk customers. 

Some time ago a consultants’ 

study forecast that bulk volumes 

would dwindle as containers 

took over, but bulk cargo is actually 

growing at 15% annually. 

Port Klang also has bulk operations 

at Southport, but this has 

limited water depth. What Port 

Klang really needs, Abi Sofian said, 

is a master plan that addresses how 

best to grow transhipment business, 

provides for bulk cargo and 

comes up with a better system for 

intra-terminal transfer between 

Northport and Westport. ❏ 

50 

May 2013


Port congestion crunch in Brazil 

In a recent report, Brazil’s Ministry of Development, 

Industry and Foreign Trade 

stated that vessels calling at ports in the 

country last year spent 90% of their time 

either waiting for a free berth or for the 

arrival of an export shipment in the port. 

As a result, Brazilian ports are expensive 

to use and exports are less competitive. 

In Santos the average time for a vessel 

to be loaded with maize was 18.7 days, of 

which 16.3 days were down to waiting 

time. It was a similar position with soya 

bean meal and sugar, whereby 8.8 days of 

the total layover of 11.4 days were down 

to waiting time. As already reported in 

WorldCargo News, some Chinese customers 

have cancelled contracts for soya beans. 

Truck queues outside the port of Santos 

stretched at one point to 30 kms. 

This was in a year when the soya bean 

crop in Brazil amounted to 83 Mt. Santos 

has been particularly hard-hit this year because 

the harvests for both soya bean and 

maize are more than double in terms of 

volume than the previous year. Brazil is 

on target to overtake the US for the very 

first time in soya bean production thanks 

to this year’s crop, while the US has been 

hard hit by drought. Brazil’s port and inland 

transport infrastructure is being overwhelmed. 

However, as the protracted debate 

over MP 595 shows (WorldCargo 

News, March 2013, p23-24), there is no 

consensus on the way forward. 

Freight impacts 

A government official noted that the long 

wait for berthing directly impacts on 

freight rates, given that demurrage fines 

are contractually allocated to the Brazilian 

importer or exporter, thereby undermining 

profits, causing damage or even 

resulting in the loss of future business. 

The report prepared for the Ministry 

says that the long stay that vessels are 

forced to endure “indicates a possible low 

operational capacity at Brazilian ports 

and/or low productivity import operations.” 

It highlights the need for “major 

investment” to expand capacity. 

Santos is not the only port to be affected. 

In 2012, container vessels stayed 

an average of 36.3 hours in all Brazilian 

ports, of which 20.5 hours were waiting 

at anchor. At Salvador, the average handling 

time was 45.7 hours, of which 33.8 

hours was waiting time. In Paranaguá, 

waiting time was 25.2 hours out of a total 

stay of 40.9 hours. 

In a 2012 World Bank study, Brazil was 

in 121st position out of 185 countries 

analysed in terms of the cost of exporting 

containers. In South Africa, the same 

cost was 73% of that charged in Brazil. In 

Mexico it was 65% and in the US, Germany 

and China the cost was less than 

50% of that being charged in Brazil. 

Too little, too late 

On the export side, measures being put 

into place to solve the problem of trucks 

having to queue at the port of Santos will 

only come into effect after most of this 

year’s harvest has been shipped. This is 

because measures such as the expropriation 

of land and environmental licensing 

take several months to implement. 

Santos port authority Codesp is to 

build a new parking area on the right bank 

of the port covering 22.6-ha, which will 

be the third area for trailers accessing the 

port. However, this year it will be able to 

operate only at 33% of capacity. 

In Guarujá, where heavy congestion 

has been reported, the state government 

is to build a second access road to the 

terminal. This is unlikely to be in operation 

before June. At present, this area, 

which contains the largest container handling 

facilities in the port, is accessed via 

an 1100m long “funnel,” which is used 

by 4000 trucks daily. To reduce congestion, 

a new system that segregates trucks 

by cargo type has been introduced, but 

what is really needed is a new access road. 

Diversion 

Trucks that previously delivered soya bean 

consignments to the ports of Santos and 

Paranaguá are frequently being sent along 

a 1600 km diversion to the port of Rio 

Grande do Sul. Using Rio Grande has 

been dictated by lower waiting times, but 

The situation is getting worse while 

arguments over port reforms continue 

the diversion means that queues at Rio 

Grande are now three times longer than 

they were a year ago. 

Even so, waiting time is half that at 

Santos or Paranaguá. Ships docking in the 

second week of May in Rio Grande 

would have had to wait until early June 

to access either Santos or Paranaguá. Veteran 

truck drivers in Brazil say the situation 

at the country’s ports is the worst 

ever, with the queue to enter Santos now 

anything up to 24 hours. Take-up of containers 

by grain shippers has increased dramatically 

this year, as they seek to avoid 

congested bulk terminals. 

Cabotage problems 

The problems also affect domestic movements 

of goods, according to Conab, Brazil’s 

national supply company. It states that 

it is more expensive and slower to ship 

grain domestically by sea. Consignments 

shipped to the north east of the country 

from the central region using a combination 

of road and sea can take between 40 

and 60 days to be delivered. 

A shipment moving between Goiás 

and Ceará can be delivered by road in 3- 

6 days at a cost of US$177 per tonne. 

However, using a combination of road and 

sea the cost rises to US$363 per tonne. 

On hauls between the southern province 

of Paraná and the north east, the price is 

around US$327 per tonne. 

Conab says the high price of using 

road and sea is due to the elevated price 

of cabotage, and longer delivery times due 

to the fact that it takes truck aggregation 

to fill a coastal vessel, so service frequency 

is out of line with market requirements. 

The situation is especially acute during 

harvest, when queues at ports for export 

shipments result in fewer trucks being 

available for domestic movements. ❏ 


news 

The continuing row over the port reform law 

MP 595 is not helping matters 

V3 

May 2013 51


Rijeka gears itself up 

The past two years have been 

ones of rejuvenation at Croatia’s 

largest port, Rijeka, and nowhere 

has this been better illustrated 

than at the port’s container terminal 

where more than €30M 

will have been spent on expansion 

and modernisation programmes 

by the end of this year. 

The terminal is now poised to 

handle a much larger share of the 

growing liner traffic moving in 

Croatia’s port of Rijeka is readying 

itself to handle a bigger slice of the 

growing liner trade between Asia 

and central/eastern Europe 

and out of the northern Adriatic 

Sea, especially to and from Asia, 

providing improvements are carried 

out to Croatia’s rail network, 

VERSTEGEN 

GRAB 

MORE 

MORE 

GRAB 

 

 

 

Super Post panamax Portainer cranes at PSA Sines, Portugal 

something the government has 

promised to do. 

The transformation started in 

April 2011 when Manila-headquartered 

ICTSI (51%) and Luka 

Rijeka, the operating arm of the 

Port Authority of Rijeka (49%), 

gained management control of 

Bradjica Container Terminal. 

The 30-year operating and investment 

concession commits 

the parties to investing €65M 

over this period. 

Immediately, ICTSI and Luka 

Rijeka put in place a capital expenditure 

programme, initially 

targeted at raising productivity 

and efficiency levels, but with the 

goal of expanding the terminal 

and gearing it up to process bigger 

ships. The business plan was 

also focused on enhancing Rijeka’s 

regional role for the Balkans, 

eastern and central Europe 

– a sector of the business mainly 

handled by Luka Koper (Slovenia) 

and the Italian port of Trieste. 

Creating a gateway 

Highly indicative of this whole 

process was the decision to rename 

and rebrand the facility 

as the Adriatic Gate Container 

Terminal (AGCT). “We have a 

dream here and that is to help 

develop Rijeka as the new gateway 

for south and central Europe,” 

CEO Phillip Marsham 

told WorldCargo News. “This is 

fast becoming a reality and it 

makes absolute sense as there is a 

six-day difference between calling 

here and calling at Benelux 

and/or German ports.” 

He was speaking after a recent 

reception at the terminal to 

commemorate the completion of 

328m of new quay line, with a 

depth alongside of 14.2m, and delivery 

of €24M of new handling 

equipment. This included the 

facility’s first post-panamax STS 

gantry cranes, featuring a 50m 

outreach, capable of handling 

ships loaded with 18 rows across 

the weather deck. Equipped 

with RAM twin-lift spreaders, 

AGCT’s CEO Phillip Marsham 

AGCT recently took delivery of €24M of new equipment including two 

ZPMC post-panamax STS gantry cranes and six RTGs 

the ZPMC cranes can lift 51t. 

In addition, the May delivery 

included two 19.5m-span RMGs 

for AGCT’s expanded on-dock 

rail yard, with each 41t-capacity 

gantry able to work across four 

loading/discharge tracks. ZPMC 

also delivered six RTGs, each 

able to span across seven container 

rows plus the truck lane and 

with a lift height of one-overfive 

and SWL of 41t. 

“This new equipment, firmly 

puts Rijeka on the map of 

the northern Adriatic region,” 

stressed Marsham. “We now have 

a couple of months in which 

to commission the equipment 

and the new terminal should 

be fully operational in July. This 

coincides with Croatia joining 

the European Union (EU) and 

that means seamless borders with 

our northern neighbours, which 

will also encourage trade. We are 

happy that everything is coming 

together. This is indeed a new 

chapter for the port of Rijeka.” 

For the remainder of the year, 

AGCT management will focus 

on expanding and improving 

the rail transfer facility, including 

laying tracks for the RMGs. The 

gate will also be relocated away 

from the city and closer to the 

main motorway and the inland 

container depot at Skrljevo. 

With all customs activities 

also due to be conducted on site, 

rather than split between the terminal 

and a location elsewhere, 

Marsham expects truck turnaround 

times to improve further 

and for this to be another strong 

selling point for AGCT. 

Enticing the carriers 

He is confident that the new 

deep draught berth at AGCT will 

provide Rijeka with much better 

operating flexibility and lead 

to some ocean carriers revamping 

their north Adriatic service 

networks by placing Rijeka as 

the first port of call and, consequently, 

discharging more cargo. 

He explained: “Currently 

Maersk Line/CMA CGM, for 

instance, call at Trieste and Luka 

Koper first because of our sea 

and air draught [under the crane] 

limitations, but then have to return 

to Trieste for empties. Our 

new terminal can change this 

and save them voyage time and 

costs.” 

The AGCT chief also alluded 

to Luka Koper’s yard and rail capacity 

as filling up and its operating 

efficiency as being in decline. 

It handled more than 600,000 

TEU in 2012. 

“With our new terminal and 

handling equipment, expanded 

yard, increased rail capacity and 

closer distance to the Hungarian 

border, plus Croatia’s admission 

to the EU, we can offer shipping 

lines a clear first port of call 

advantage and their customers 

faster transit times to key markets, 

such as Budapest. We can 

save the shipping lines a day on 

their voyages.” 

He also believes AGCT now 

has the potential to act as a subregional 

hub for northern Italy 

(Ancona-Venice) and for smaller 

eastern Adriatic ports in the 

Split-Durres (Albania) range. 

Critical to the success of the 

expanded terminal will be improvements 

to the nation’s rail 

network where capacity and average 

train speeds need to be improved. 

Already, the government 

has made progress with a unified 

power system, allowing non-stop 

train services to Budapest. Since 

November, AGCT has been dispatching 

regular services to Serbia 

and Budapest, with the latter 

destination reached in 48 hours. 

Longer-term, Marsham sees 

great opportunities in developing 

a so-called “Baltic-Adriatic 

freight corridor” and linking up 

with ICTSI’s port operations at 

the Baltic Container Terminal in 

Gdynia, Poland. 

Rail improvements 

Within the port, AGCT is set to 

double its intermodal rail capacity, 

raising the yard’s capacity to 

360,000 TEU a year. Four 240m 

tracks will be used for loading/ 

discharge activities. Ultimately, 

these will be extended to 318m 

in length so that standard size 

European block trains can be run. 

“After this year, AGCT will 

move into an operational phase 

and upgrades at the site will then 

become volume related,” explained 

Marsham. 

He is confident that the declines 

in cargo that have taken 

place at AGCT in recent years – in 

2012 126,680TEU was handled 

compared with 168,779 TEU in 

2008 – can be stemmed. “Our 

projections are for box traffic to 

double by 2015 when we expect 

to be handling 245,000 TEU,” 

Marsham told WorldCargo News. 

The expansion of AGCT is 

just one part of the port authority’s 

own gateway aspirations for 

Rijeka. It is determined to add 

a second container terminal and 

has already secured €70M in 

World Bank funding to build the 

first 400m of a planned 680m of 

quay at the new facility. It will 

have a draught alongside of up 

to 20m. 

“We hope to have the first 

phase of this project completed 

in late 2016 or Q1 2017,” explained 

Vlado Mezak, director 

of Rijeka Port Authority. “The 

schedule for the remaining 280m 

of wharf will be determined by 

whether public/private or EU 

funding is used, but I can confirm 

that tender documents for 

the 30-year operating concession 

will be published by the end of 

this year. We anticipate that container 

handling operations will 

commence during 2018.” 

He rejected claims that the 

new terminal could lead to an 

oversupply of capacity in Rijeka, 

arguing that in five years’ time 

AGCT’s utilisation levels would 

be approaching 60% of its design 

throughput. “It is important we 

act ahead of the demand curve to 

ensure the port’s operations are efficient,” 

he said. “A throughput capacity 

of 1.2M TEU for this port, 

given its potential, is not so big.” 

The developments at AGCT 

and the port of Rijeka look set 

to change the nature of container 

handling activity and liner shipping 

patterns in the Adriatic in 

the coming years. 

52 

May 2013

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Good timing means everything 

The JadeWeserPort management company, 

JadeWeserPort Realisierungsgesellschaft, 

is tendering for a €2M feasibility 

study to examine ways and means 

to boost competitiveness and throughput 

throughout the JadeWeserPort Logistics 

Zone. The results of this EU-wide tender 

should become available in 2015. 

The document contains information 

on the economic and technical case for 

building a second container port to the 

north of the existing terminal, of which 

only phase 1 is operational. The findings 

will serve as the basis for a political decision 

as to the timing and procedures for 

undertaking the expansion into the 2020s. 

The tender covers various objects: 

● Technical investigation for realising an 

extended port area. 

● Possible expansion of the road and rail 

connections. 

● Environmental impacts such as noise 

and light nuisance from port operations. 

● Feasibility of environmental mitigation 

measures, for example compulsory cold 

ironing, use of (battery) electric equipment, 

LNG instead of diesel, etc. 

The tender was drawn up by Jörg 

Bode when he was minister for economic 

affairs for the state of Lower Saxony (NS). 

The CDU/FDP administration has been 

replaced by a “red and green” coalition, 

which has opted to carry on with Bode’s 

plan as well as pursue new marketing initiatives. 

JWP Realisierungsgesellschaft’s 

managing director Axel Kluth described 

the feasibility study as a positive sign. “We 

need a little patience,” he said. 

Understatement 

Perhaps this is what us meant by an understatement. 

The new Wilhelmshaven 

container port faces serious problems, despite 

ceaseless marketing and sales efforts 

by JWP and the operator, Eurogate Group. 

At the time of writing Eurogate’s top brass 

are touring Prague and Budapest to promote 

Germany’s only really deep water 

container terminal. They have spent the 

past two years “globe trotting” to drum 

up support from the world’s shippers and 

carriers, with little reward. 

Phase 1 of the facility is handling a 

weekly Maersk Far East service (AE-1 

string) and (now) two regular Maersk 

Seago Baltic feeder services, but throughput 

in the first two months of 2013 

amounted to just 7000 containers, far 

below expectations and even that has 

come off the Eurogate/Maersk joint venture 

operation in Bremerhaven (NTB). 

The Nordfrost group is the only tenant 

in the logistics zone, although it has 

been reported that a second customer, 3Y 

Logistics, has been signed up and will invest 

€15M-20M in a 2500 m 2 warehouse. 

Maersk has a 30% stake in Eurogate’s 

concession through APM Terminals. As 

previously reported, 322 of the 400-strong 

workforce has been put on short time 

indefinitely. Officially Eurogate expects 

volumes to start picking up this Autumn, 

so normal working probably would not 

be fully restored until early 2014. 

The company is trying everything. 

Its rail operating affiliates Eurogate 

Intermodal and Acos are offering every 

destination in Germany and neighbouring 

countries through their own network 

and their intermodal tariffs have been 

adapted to the levels offered from Hamburg 

and Bremerhaven. Acos is also operating 

a shuttle service between 

Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg and 

Bremerhaven for containers being 

shipped in and out over the three ports, 

with guaranteed arrival times. 

Heavy commitments 

Between them the states of NS and 

Bremen have invested €500M of taxpayers’ 

money to create JadeWeserPort, while 

Eurogate’s commitment is up to E350M 

if you count phase 2 cranes, straddle carriers, 

etc. The port operating area occupies 

130-ha and has a 1725m deep water 

linear quay able to accommodate four 

18,000 TEU vessels. The adjacent logistics 

centre (GVZ) occupies another 160- 

ha. Even when it opened (late) last September 

the port was forecast to handle 

180 ship calls in 2012 and 500 this year, 

building to 880 calls annually in 2015. 

Now is not a good time to be opening new 

container terminals in Europe 

“The forecast figures bumped into reality,” 

remarked a spokesman for the NS 

ministry of economic affairs. Eurogate 

guaranteed a throughput of 700 000 TEU 

in the first full year of operations. “Based 

on the present situation it will only be a 

portion of this figure,” stated Emanuel 

Schiffer, Eurogate’s joint managing director. 

Up to the end of April the facility is 

understood to have handled 65,000 TEU. 

Maersk has announced that it will call 

at NTB Bremerhaven with the Triple E- 

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class vessels, not Wilhelmshaven. This is a 

blow for Eurogate and some hard talking 

between the partners has been going on. 

Over the years heaps of political as well 

as investment capital have gone into 

JadeWeserPort and relations are strained 

at all levels. If an expansion programme is 

undertaken, the state of Bremen would 

have to contribute 50% of the costs, which 

it is not keen on. 

The state of Hamburg stayed away 

from the project because it wanted to 


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May 2013 55 

V3


news 

The Scaldia Dock in Vlissingen, looking south west towards the Scheldt. The aborted STO 

container terminal would have been located on the north bank (right), opposite Verbrugge Terminals 

on the south bank. (Photo: ZSP, 2010) 

 

 

 

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prioritise the Elbe deepening and did not 

want to hand Berlin a reason not to support 

it, but that project is still in abeyance 

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Image problems 

On top of everything, continuous problems 

during the construction period have 

compromised JadeWeserPort’s image and 

claims between the various partners over 

extra costs and charges do not help convince 

shipping lines to call there. Hinterland 

connections are not ideal, and having 

the largest container shipping company 

as a partner in the terminal may be 

more of a hindrance than a help. 

Add to that the fact that 

Wilhelmshaven is hardly a centre of international 

business. It remains to be seen 

how Eurogate will overcome this difficult 

situation, particularly as the Hamburg 

and Bremerhaven facilities are also suffering 

from the present economic crisis. 

The continuing problems of the 

Eurozone have severely dented the recovery 

from the 2008-9 recession that could 

be seen in 2010 and the early part of 2011. 

Europe’s economy is bumping along, but 

unfortunately it is impossible to time 

mega-projects such as JWP to come on 

stream during an “up” cycle. 

Vlissingen blow 

Wilhelmshaven is not the only port that 

is suffering. As reported on worldcargonews.com 

on 8 May, the Belgian firms Seainvest 

and Zuidnatie have finally pulled 

the plug on their container terminal 

project in the Dutch port of Vlissingen 

(Flushing), part of Zeeland Seaports. The 

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55-ha site of the proposed Scaldia Terminal 

Operator (STO) facility has been returned 

to the port authority (ZSP). 

“The market we aimed at has collapsed,” 

said a spokesman for Sea-Invest, 

the 70% partner in STO. Zuidnatie director 

Marcel Dubourg told Antwerp 

publication De Lloyd: “As the recession 

spread, container lines became ever more 

reluctant to move to Flushing.” 

The project was unveiled in autumn 

2010 in a high profile ceremony with the 

chief guest being the (then) Dutch Head 

of State, Queen Beatrix, but nothing materialised. 

Last June the 375m perpendicular 

quay was leased to Supermaritime 

along with a 9-ha section of the 42-ha 

STO terminal area. It is understood that 

Verbrugge Terminals could take a further 

13-ha of the land handed back to ZSP. 

The other private container terminal 

initiative in Vlissingen, the 50:50 project 

of Verbrugge and Eurogate Group, is dormant 

and its future must be open to doubt. 

Similarly the chances of ZSP’s own preferred 

project, Westerschelde Container 

Terminal (WCT), ever being built must 

be very slim. There have been no “takers” 

to replace PSA, which inherited the 

project when it took over HesseNoord- 

Natie, but pulled out of it in 2010. 

M&S anchor 

Questions are also being asked about DP 

World London Gateway. Phase 1 of the 

facility is due to open towards the end of 

this year. An intermodal rail service agreement 

has been signed with DB Schenker 

Rail (UK), but there is no hint about any 

shipping lines making a commitment and 

no-one has signed up for the huge, adjacent 

logistics park. 

However, at the time of writing (mid- 

May), there are rumours that Marks & 

Spencer will sign up for 1M ft 2 of warehousing. 

As M&S sources most of its nonfood 

ambient goods from China and SEA, 

(a) deep sea carrier(s) must be waiting in 

the wings. Separately, there is a rumour 

that Evergreen will switch its Thamesport 

calls (but not its Felixstowe calls) to London 

Gateway. (Hutchison has its own 

problems at Thamesport. The automated 

yard equipment is now 20 years old, but 

throughput does not really justify new investments). 

This is not an easy time for DP World. 

It has massive investment commitments, 

including around US$1B in London 

Gateway up to the end of 2014, but its 

parent Dubai World is under pressure to 

speed up asset sales before its first debt 

repayment deadline in September 2015. 

Dubai World reached a US$25B debt restructuring 

deal in 2011 with a banking 

consortium led by Abu Dhabi Commercial 

Bank. DP World has sold its Hong 

Kong terminals and a breakbulk operation 

in Belgium to improve liquidity. 

Dubai World has an 80% stake in DP 

World and wants to hold on to it. 

DP World acquired P&O Ports in February 

2006, including the conditional 

planning approval awarded in June 2005. 

Full consent was awarded in June 2007, 

but DP World’s decision to proceed surprised 

some observers. There is a view that 

P&O Ports went to planning in order to 

increase its sale appeal, but had no real 

intention of developing Shellhaven as the 

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Global operators on a roll 

The past four years have 

seen huge variations 

in annual container 

throughputs, with 2009 seeing 

the first decline (-10%) in the 

industry’s history, 2010 a strong 

return to growth (12%) and 2011 

and 2012 more modest increases 

in the 4-6% range. This year most 

analysts are expecting growth in 

the 5-6% range. 

Although global terminal operators 

(GTOs) scaled back on their 

capital expansion programmes 

slightly in the fiscally constrained 

2008-10 period, they still invested 

and secured new operating concessions. 

For the past 20 years or 

so, the sector has seen a constant 

increase in its share of the global 

container market. This is a situation 

that is expected to continue, 

despite some renewed interest in 

ports and terminals from equity 

groups, financial intermediaries 

and pension funds. 

But the GTOs will be operating 

in a slower trading environment 

with annualised growth 

rates of only 5-6% a year expected 

over the next decade. This compares 

with average volume rises 

of 10-12% a year throughout the 

1990s and 2000s, a period that 

was characterised by robust traffic 

rises and hundreds of new deals 

being concluded by the main international 

terminal operators/ 

stevedores as they gained ground 

in the industry. 

Maturing sector 

While the slower rates of growth 

in container handling activity 

partly relate to poorer global economic 

growth prospects, especially 

in the OECD countries, they 

also reflect the maturing nature of 

the container shipping industry. 

In many regions of the developed 

world well over 80% of general 

and neo-bulk cargoes – such as 

steel, lumber and forest products – 

have already been unitised. 

Having said this, there remains 

a significant volume of refrigerated 

cargo that is moved in specialised 

ships, while a range of 

agricultural commodities, such as 

soya beans, lentils, some grain and 

ores, are moved conventionally 

and could be containerised if the 

right infrastructure were in place. 

Geographically, it is the 

emerging markets that offer 

the GTO industry the best 

prospects, principally because: 

• Annualised rates of growth over 

the next 10 years in regions such 

as Africa, Latin America and 

Concessions catapult capacity 

All the main global terminal operating 

companies have sizeable 

operating and investment concessions 

in place which are due 

to deliver a significant amount 

of additional container handling 

capacity over the next two to 

three years. 

A conservative estimate suggests 

that by the end of 2015, 

six leading GTOs – HPH, PSA 

International, DP World, APM 

Terminals, China Merchants 

Holdings International and Cosco 

Pacific – collectively will 

have added 30M-35M TEU of 

annualised handling capacity to 

the global total. Of these, DP 

World and APMT come out as 

being highly ambitious. 

DP World’s main projects 

are set to add about 12M TEU 

of new capacity over the next 

two-three years. Around 40% 

of this new capacity will come 

on stream at its home port of 

Jebel Ali in Dubai, with 1M 

TEU added through its Jebel Ali 

Container Terminal 2 extension 

project by the end of 2013 and 

up to 4M TEU coming into 

operation at the new Terminal 3 

complex in 2014. 

Elsewhere, its Embramar 

project in Santos, where it 

works with Odebrecht, will add 

1M TEU later this year. At London 

Gateway at least 1.6M TEU 

will come on stream this year, 

with the possibility of a further 

2M TEU within the next two 

years. While there is some uncertainty 

about the scheduling 

of its Rotterdam World Gateway 

complex, it is expected to open 

in late 2014 with a design capacity 

of 2.4M TEU and eventually 

will be able to handle 4M 

TEU a year. By 2020 DP World 

hopes to have doubled its 2011 

handling capacity and have facilities 

capable of handling close 

to 100M TEU in place. 

APMT has an ambitious 

expansion programme in 

place too, with a goal of 

becoming the world’s leading 

container port and inland services 

operator by 2016. On the 

basis of new developments, the 

operator will phase in to service 

an estimated 12M TEU of new 

capacity over the next three years. 

Due to open in late 2014, 

APMT’s Maasvlakte II terminal 

is among its biggest projects, 

with stage one delivering about 

2.7M TEU of extra handling 

capacity to the Benelux market, 

eventually increasing to 4.5M 

TEU, to be phased in according 

to market demand. Developments 

in the emerging markets 

will be responsible for most of 

the group’s remaining capacity 

increases as terminals in Santos, 

Callao, Lazaro Cardenas, Izmir, 

Port Moin and Ningbo are 

completed. 

Hong Kong’s HPH and Singapore’s 

PSA International have 

fewer concessions and expansion 

programmes in place, although 

the Singapore Government 

is preparing to build an 

entirely new box port at Tuas 

in the west of the island. While 

no time frame is known for the 

development, PSA’s leases with 

the government for its terminals 

at Keppel, Pulau Brani and Tanjong 

Pagar will expire in 2017. 

In the meantime, PSA is focused 

on expanding its Pasir 

Panjang terminal. An estimated 

S$3.5B will be spent on phases 

three and four with at least 8M 

TEU of additional handling capacity 

expected to be in place at 

the complex over the next decade. 

The next two years will also 

see it complete a 1.8M TEU 

capacity terminal at Dammam 

in Saudi Arabia and add some 

capacity at Port Mariel, Cuba. 

Outside of the leading pack, 

Manila-based ICTSI has secured 

a number of high profile 

concessions in the last few years 

and was recently shortlisted in 

the bidding process to build 

a third terminal in the port of 

Melbourne, Australia. 

The next two-three years will 

see the group introduce new 

handling capacity throughout its 

network, including at its flagship 

facility in Manila, at Manzanillo 

in Mexico, Lekki in Nigeria, 

Gdynia in Poland and Rijeka 

in Croatia. Overall, a projected 

4M-5M TEU of new handling 

capacity will be added to ICT- 

SI’s global portfolio of facilities 

over this period. 

Despite high levels of volatility and 

uncertainty over container growth 

prospects, global terminal operators 

continue to invest heavily 

parts of Asia are projected to 

be three-four times higher than 

those in Europe, North America, 

Japan and maturing nations in 

Asia, such as South Korea, Taiwan 

and Singapore. 

• There is a rising demand for the 

development of modern cargo/ 

container handling facilities and 

associated infrastructure. Local 

port authorities are often short 

of cash or unable to raise the finance 

for such projects. 

• Rising levels of foreign direct investment 

by a mix of companies, 

quite often including manufacturers/producers, 

dictate that 

efficient supply chains are in 

place. Fundamentally, this means 

efficient ports and container terminals 

to handle the import/export 

flows that normally follow 

on from the investment. 

APM Terminals (APMT), China 

Merchants Holdings (International) 

(CMHI), DP World and PSA 

International (PSA) are among the 

leading GTOs already well-established 

in managing terminals in 

the developing world. Each is actively 

chasing new opportunities. 

Russian roulette 

Last year saw APMT make a key 

move into the Russian market, a 

region singled out by group CEO 

Kim Fejfer as displaying the fastest 

growth rates of any BRIC nation 

last year and offering sound 

prospects. The Netherlandsheadquartered 

terminal operator 

bought a 37.5% stake in Global 

We’re there, 

wherever you need us 

From Singapore to Uzbekistan, if you’re involved in an 

incident, we’ll get someone on site and quickly. With 20 

claims offices in key locations, and a further network 

of local partners, we always have professionals on 

hand with knowledge of the key issues and the legal 

frameworks needed to manage a claim effectively. 

Because we don’t do anything else, we lead 

the way in transport and logistics insurance. 

PSA will spend S$3.5B to build an additional 8M TEU of capacity at Pasir 

Panjang terminal over the next decade, while the Singapore government is 

planning a new box port at Tuas in the west of the island 

Ports Investments (GPI), Russia’s 

leading operator of container terminals, 

which also has a presence 

in Finland and Latvia. GPI handled 

about 1.4M TEU in 2012, 

up 8% on 2011, and with about 

a 30% share of Russia’s total container 

market. 

“Russia will need world-class 

port infrastructure and operational 

excellence to serve global shipping 

lines and meet its own ambitions 

of economic development 

and GPI has a ‘good eye’ to grow 

the business. This deal is a great opportunity 

for APMT,” said Fejfer. 

He added: “The nation’s rapidly 

developing middle class, Russia’s 

integration with the global 

economy as evidenced by its 

membership of the WTO plus 

the country’s wealth of natural 

resources will continue to fuel the 

growth in exports and imports in 

the long run.” 

GPI controls the Petrolesport 

and Moby Dik terminals in St 

Petersburg – a total operating 

capacity of 1.8M TEU – as well 

as the city’s Yanino Logistics Park. 

May 2013 59


With 

In Russia’s Far East region, it owns 

Vostochnaya Stevedoring Co which 

has a terminal with a design capacity 

of 550,000 TEU. In addition, GPI is 

an important player in the transit cargo 

market, owning Multi-Link Terminals 

in Finland, which operates small container 

terminals in Helsinki (Vuosaari) 

and Kotka as well as three inland depots. 

APMT and GPI will look at additional 

investments and the Black Sea area appears 

to be an obvious area for an operating 

presence at some stage. But for 

the time being the focus is on business 

integration and process management 

according to Fejfer, including in areas 

DP World will add 1M TEU of capacity at 

Jebel Ali Container Terminal 2 by the end of 

2013 and 4M TEU will go into operation at 

the new Terminal 3 complex in 2014 

such as operations, procurement and IT. 

Mid range players 

Medium-sized terminal operating companies 

also view emerging markets as 

solid investment opportunities. Some examples 

include: 

• Grup TCB is spreading out from its 

Spanish homeland (originally Barcelona) 

to Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, 

Guatemala and Turkey. 

• Philippines-based International Container 

Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) is 

active in many countries, including China, 

the Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar, 

Georgia, Croatia, Poland, Argentina, 

Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. 

• Turkey’s Yilport is contemplating 

projects in Ecuador, Colombia, Ghana 

and elsewhere in West and East Africa. 

Although the GTOs’ main focus appears 

At the heart of every industry, 

At the centre of every movement 

to be on emerging markets it does not mean 

that Europe and North America are being 

ignored. Indeed, APMT and DP World 

are both involved in very large projects in 

Rotterdam, each developing multi-million 

TEU capacity, highly automated facilities 

in the Maasvlakte II area of the port. 

APMT is also a 30% shareholder in 

the recently opened Jade Weser Port 

(JWP) in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, 

where it works with Eurogate. In April, a 

technical and economic feasibility study 

on a northern extension to the JWP 

container terminal was launched (see 

page 55). Elsewhere in Europe, APMT 

has upgrade programmes in place at 

Gothenburg, Algeciras and Poti, Georgia 

(see page 48). 

DP World, meanwhile, is set to open 

its eagerly awaited London Gateway 

(LG) terminal on the River Thames in 

Q4/2013. Initially, it will have the capacity 

to handle 1.6M TEU. However, a short 

ramp up period will allow the operator 

to process over 3.5M TEU by early 2015. 

The adjacent rail-connected logistics 

park, which is capable of accommodating 

up to 925M m 2 of warehousing space, 

distinguishes the new port from other 

deepsea container ports in the UK. It has 

been described by the terminal operator 

as a “potential game changer” when it 

comes to the organisation of future shipping 

and freight distribution networks in 

the country. 

Value added approach 

DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf sees 

LG as demonstrating the Dubai-based 

group’s increasingly value-added-driven 

approach to the terminals business. He 

thinks that supply chains will become 

more important in determining a company’s 

success and its ability to compete. 

At the same time, the opportunity to offer 

customers choices should help shield 

DP World from having to compete on 

price alone. 

Yet DP World has not revealed the 

identity of any customers, despite parties 

close to LG suggesting at least one 

shipping line or carrier grouping will be 

calling from day one with several services. 

Discussions are also known to be taking 

place with a number of potential clients 

for the logistics park, thought to include 

UK-based retailers including Marks & 

Spencer and specialist logistics groups. 

In April, Peter Ward, commercial manager 

of the cargo supply chain at LG, 

confirmed that 380,000 ft 2 of multi-use 

warehousing would be built. 

“A few months ago we started testing 

the concept of developing common-user 

facilities in the logistics park and it was 

soon apparent that our plan was oversubscribed. 

We are now evaluating a similar 

approach for small and medium-sized 

enterprises engaged in the fresh food and 

time-sensitive environment,” he explained. 

Behemoth challenges 

A mounting challenge faced by ports 

and terminals, especially the larger ones, 

is how to handle much larger ships safely, 

securely and, invariably, in existing 

berthing windows. It can mean having 

to process as many as 6,000 containers a 

day – twice the handling rate achieved by 

most operators currently – and that inevitably 

involves more automation. 

Various levels of automation are becoming 

evident in most new terminals, 

especially in countries where salaries are 

high and there is an absence of strong union 

opposition. Automation is also more 

common when new terminals are developed 

and/or where there are specific 

safety or security issues. 

For instance TCB, which operates TC 

Buen at Buenaventura in Colombia, has 

invested about US$3.5M on installing 

various OCR systems on its ship-to-shore 

gantries, yard cranes and at the gates. It 

allows the terminal operator to optimise 

and allow real-time traceability on all containers 

entering and leaving the facility. 

In contrast, only a few operators have 

introduced radically new systems and/or 

automated processes at existing terminals 

because doing this while still trying to continue 

day-to-day operations presents huge 

challenges, both operationally and fiscally. 

Costly investments 

Automation is expensive, as is the cost of 

investing in the bigger cranes, stronger 

60 

May 2013


quay walls and deep water alongside and 

in the channels to accommodate the new 

classes of ultra-large container ships. This 

is another reason why the GTOs want 

closer working relationships with their 

ocean carriers and why discussions are 

taking place that aim to link tariffs and 

handling rates more closely to the investment 

that has been made, or is needed, in 

the terminals. 

In new terminals, unmanned yards are 

becoming increasingly common. Gradually 

the ship-to-shore interface will go 

the same way as the larger cranes being 

installed will be controlled by operatives 

working the units remotely from computer 

work stations rather than physically 

working controls in the cab. 

But as all of the main GTOs acknowledged, 

it is not only about buying new 

equipment and installing more sophisticated 

planning and terminal operating 

systems. “It is also about investing in people 

and ensuring that they are properly 

trained and fully conversant with all safety 

and security issues,” said Sharaf. “It is also 

vital that tighter communication links are 

put in place and there are better and more 

streamlined exchanges of information between 

all parties.” 

Criticising carriers 

DP World’s Sharaf was, however, highly 

critical of liner companies’ attitudes when 

it came to co-operation. Addressing the 

recent Lloyd’s List shipping summit, held 

in London, he said he has been trying 

for seven years to set up more effective 

communications in the interest of driving 

efficiencies, but price generally took 

precedence. 

“The focus right now [again] from the 

liner industry is only on price. But we 

say: ‘Let’s put the price aside and see how 

much you will save through efficiencies 

achieved by process and technological 

improvements’,” he said. 

The need for better communication 

also extends in the other direction and 

needs to include beneficial cargo owners. 

It is noticeable how port authorities and 

GTOs have reached out to shippers and 

consignees in an effort to better understand 

their supply chain needs and also 

the inland distribution aspects of their 

businesses. 

In selected terminals in their portfolios, 

Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), DP 

World, APMT and HHLA have all made 

moves in this direction. It is a trend that 

will continue as ports and operators seek 

to process a higher proportion of cargo 

off-site. 

A clear trend over the past few years 

has been that of so-called “portfolio 

cleansing”, a process whereby individual 

GTOs actively manage their investments/ 

terminal estate often to a set of specific 

strategic, fiscal (including profitability) 

and operational criteria. 

Disposing of assets 

Arguably, APMT and DP World have 

been the most active on this front over 

the past two years. Both companies have 

disposed of terminals no longer considered 

to be of core value and/or when 

they did not have management control. 

They have used the resulting funds to 

strengthen their balance sheets, top up 

their ‘investment pots’ and/or boost profitability. 

It was a process highlighted by Sultan 

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of DP 

World, at the company’s annual results 

announcement in March. “This year, we 

have continued to actively manage our 

portfolio to maximum advantage, divesting 

of non-core or low return assets. This 

has enabled us to move capital into those 

markets where we see more profitable 

returns whilst strengthening our capital 

base,” he said. “It is such actions, whether 

investing for growth, actively managing 

our portfolio of assets, or strengthening 

our balance sheet, that will allow us to 

deliver higher returns for our shareholders 

over the medium term.” 

This year has started off in a similar 

vein with DP World in the process 

of disposing of its terminal interests in 

Hong Kong. These include its 100% 

stake in Asia Container Terminal and 

its 75% stake in CSX World Terminals, 

which operates Berth Three at the Kwai 

Chung Container Terminal and the ATL 

Logistics Centre – sold, respectively, to 

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust and 

Goodman Hong Kong Logistics Fund. 

The deal with Goodman includes an 

ongoing management contract for the 

facilities, which gives DP World “an 

ongoing and significant toehold in this 

important market”, according to a local 

analyst. 

Future structure 

So what about the future organisational 

structure of the industry While GTOs 

will continue to see their share of the 

market rise, it is clear that within this 

sector Chinese money and China-based 

companies will feature more. Recent 

years have seen both Cosco Pacific and 

CMHI move into markets outside of 

China, with the latter active in Lagos, 

Togo and Djibouti and developing facilities 

in Sri Lanka. 

CMHI also made what some in the industry 

call a “transformational deal” when 

it acquired 49% of CMA CGM’s terminal 

business earlier this year. The €400M deal 

to buy Terminal Link expanded CMHI’s 

global footprint at a stroke, for the first 

time giving the company a presence in 

ports such as Dunkirk, Le Havre, Houston, 

Miami, Tanger Med, Marsaxlokk 

and Busan. In terms of total throughput, 

Terminal Link processes in excess of 8M 

TEU a year. 

CMHI chairman Dr. Fu Yuning described 

the deal as being highly strategic 

for the group. “The transaction marks a 

significant step towards expanding our international 

footprint, and Terminal Link’s 

strategic relationship with CMA CGM 

will help to ensure the long-term sustainability 

of its operations,” he said. “Besides, 

Terminal Link’s exposure to terminals 

Everyday the world seems to become just a little smaller; 

bringing people, businesses and economies closer 

together, creating new opportunities and possibilities 

along the way. You need to be prepared. 

You need access to the right infrastructure and the right 

operations, with experience and expertise close at hand. 

That’s where we come in. APM Terminals brings access 

in emerging markets and its potential 

pipeline of new projects present another 

driver for its volume growth and financial 

returns in the future.” 

Nonetheless, organic growth remains 

important for the GTOs and an active 

pipeline of developments is in place at 

most companies, whether it be in fulfilling 

recent concession awards and/or 

expanding facilities held for several years 

(see box story, p55). 

Acquisitions 

Of course, the situation could change 

immediately should acquisitions or 

mergers occur, something that is difficult 

ICTSI will add 4M-5M TEU of new capacity 

to its global portfolio in the next three 

years, including expansion at its flagship facility 

in Manila 

Lift your exports 

to new heights 

to international trade and the global logistics chain to your 

shores and to your cities, helping to lift your exports, your 

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We are 25,000 dedicated professionals, whom together 

with you, can help lift your ambitions and achievements, 

from logistics, to safety, to a brighter, sustainable future. 

Together we are stronger. 

May 2013 61

PORT DEVELOPMENT NEWS 

Equipment recently arrived at the 2.2M TEU capacity Brasil Terminal Portuário 

in the Port of Santos, Brazil, one of several new APM Terminals facilities 

in emerging markets 

Terminal operator 

PSA International 

Hutchison Port Holdings 

DP World 

APM Terminals 

Cosco Pacific 

Terminal Investment Limited 

China Shipping Terminal Dev 

Evergreen 

Eurogate/Contship Italia 

HHLA 

Total of leading 10 

World throughput 

to predict. But as the deals mentioned 

above suggest, there are 

signs that corporate activity is 

picking up compared with the 

period from 2008 to early 2012. 

APMT’s Fejfer attributed this to 

higher levels of financial liquidity 

and the greater availability of 

capita at low interest rates. 

While pension and specialist 

equity/infrastructure funds 

and general investment entities 

have rekindled their interest in 

the ports/terminals and logistics 

sectors, ocean carriers appear to 

have become more willing sellers 

in an attempt to monetise 

at least some of their holdings. 

In addition to the CMA 

CGM/CMHI deal, for instance, 

MSC recently signed an agreement 

to sell 35% of its 100% 

stake in Terminal Investments 

Limited (TIL), its port management/stevedoring 

arm, to Australia-based 

Global Infrastructure 

Partners (GIP) and a group of 

that company’s LP co-investors. 

Subject to regulatory approval, 

the US$1.93B transaction is expected 

to be concluded by the 

end of June 2013. 

Leading GTOs according to equity share of TEU (2011) 

M TEU handled 

47.6 

43.4 

33.1 

32 

15.4 

12.1 

7.8 

6.9 

6.6 

6.4 

211.3 

588.6 

% share of world 

throughput 

8.1% 

7.4% 

5.6% 

5.4% 

2.6% 

2.1% 

1.3% 

1.2% 

1.1% 

1.1% 

35.9% 

64.1% 

Notes: The leading five operators control 29.1% of the market; Leading 

China-based groups (including HPH) have a 11.3% share. 

Source: Drewry Maritime Research 

GIP is already well established 

in the utility, rail and air 

infrastructure sectors and has 

some existing port investments, 

through its wholly owned subsidiary 

International Port Holdings 

(IPH), with a total throughput 

below 1.5M TEU. These 

comprise of Great Yarmouth 

Port Company (100%), which 

handles no containers, Port of 

Brisbane (27%) and International 

Trade Logistics (50%), which 

operates the Exolgan facility in 

Buenos Aires. 

The TIL deal will significantly 

elevate the Australian group’s 

presence in the maritime ports 

business, giving it an interest in 

30 existing/under development 

terminals, with an estimated annualised 

throughput of 12M- 

13M TEU a year. 

Best in class 

According to Adebayo Ogunlesi, 

GIP chairman and managing 

partner, the TIL deal is in 

line with the group’s investment 

strategy of “developing 

best-in-class joint ventures with 

industry leaders”. IPH chairman 

Alistair Baillie, who was instrumental 

in developing P&O Ports 

into a leading GTO prior to 

its US$5.7B sale to DP World 

in 2006, will join TIL as president. 

Subsequent to the arrangement 

with TIL, GIP was part of 

the consortium that successfully 

secured the 99-year lease awarded 

by Australia’s New South Wales 

state government to operate Port 

Botany and Port Kembla. 

It is clear that opportunities 

abound in the GTO sector and 

it continues to be one of the 

only bright spots in an otherwise 

gloomy market. It is for this reason 

that activity and investment 

are likely to stay at high levels for 

the foreseeable future. 

Cometh the Chinese 

Mainland China-based terminal 

operating companies, including 

Cosco Pacific, Shanghai International 

Port Group (SIPG), 

China Merchants Holding International 

(CMHI) and China 

Shipping Terminal Development 

(CSTD) are increasingly 

planting their flags in overseas 

markets. They are doing this, 

both by aggressively bidding on 

new concessions and through 

corporate activity, including 

by forming partnerships with 

incumbent operators, buying 

shares in projects and/or taking 

direct stakes in other companies. 

Neil Davidson, senior advisor, 

ports at Drewry Maritime 

Research, thinks the Chinese 

are set to become much bigger 

players in the global terminal 

operating business and he also 

sees more corporate activity taking 

place. “After a lull in merger 

and acquisition activity in the 

sector, brought about by the 

global slowdown in 2009, activity 

levels are building up again 

and we expect to see more major 

deals taking place,” he said. 

Davidson suggested that 

“ownership and ranking of the 

world’s major terminal operators 

may be significantly different 

in a year’s time”, though he 

stopped short of specifically referring 

to the business development 

strategies and expansion 

philosophies of China’s main 

GTOs. 

Large deals have already been 

concluded and although the 

CMHI deal to buy 49% of CMA 

CGM’s Terminal Link was the 

highest profile event of the past 

12 months, several other highly 

significant transactions have 

also been completed, including: 

• CMHI, Cosco Pacific and CST, 

the port management arm of 

the China Shipping Group, 

joined forces to buy Yang 

Ming’s 10% shareholding in 

Kaohsiung’s Kao Ming Container 

Terminal. 

• CMHI acquired 50% of Togobased 

Thesar Maritime and 

became a shareholder in Lome 

International Container Terminal. 

The Chinese company 

is now a partner with Terminal 

Investment Limited in developing 

a purpose-designed 2.2M 

TEU capacity container terminal 

in the West African country’s 

largest port. 

• CSTD signed a Memorandum 

of Understanding with APMT 

in March 2013 to buy a 24% 

share of APM Terminals Zeebrugge 

in Belgium. SIPG already 

owns 25% of the operation. 

• A framework agreement was 

concluded between CMHI 

and the Tanzanian Government 

for the overall planning, design, 

development, construction and 

management of the Bagamoyo 

special economic zone development 

project, including the 

construction of a new port. 

• CMHI acquired 23.5% of the 

shares in Port de Djibouti SA, 

which controls the multipurpose 

terminal in the port of 

Djibouti, 66.66% of the Doraleh 

Container Terminal and 

23.1% of Djibouti Dry Port, 

which has responsibility for the 

Djibouti Free Zone. 

CMHI chairman Dr. Fu Yuning 

has been targeting investment 

opportunities in the developing 

world for several years and sees 

considerable growth opportunities 

in sub-Saharan Africa. “Djibouti 

does not only avail our 

group with another attractive 

opportunity to establish its presence 

in East Africa but also, 

together with the group’s earlier 

investments in West Africa, 

strengthens our position in the 

increasingly affluent African 

market,” he said. “The acquisition 

is consistent with CMHI’s 

long-term development strategy 

to gradually roll out its international 

footprint.” 

Despite these various deals, 

the overseas port networks of 

Chinese companies remain limited. 

Moreover, in the case of 

Cosco Pacific and CSTD several 

of their facilities appear to 

be run mainly to complement 

and help improve operations at 

their sister shipping lines, Cosco 

Container Lines and China 

Shipping Container Lines, respectively. 

Currently, Cosco Pacific has 

four overseas investments centred 

on Singapore, Antwerp, Piraeus, 

and Port Said – where it 

is a shareholder in Suez Canal 

Container Terminal, managed 

by APMT. Apart from Piraeus, it 

is the junior shareholder in all 

cases. 

CMHI, which also owns 

a slice of Hong Kong-headquartered 

Modern Terminals 

Limited, has no direct ownership 

links with liner shipping 

companies and its investments 

are as a pure terminal operator. 

In this regard, therefore, it can 

be viewed in a similar light to 

HPH, PSA International and 

DP World. 

While the strategies may 

differ, Chinese operators will 

definitely be bigger forces in 

the third party port management 

and GTO market over the 

coming years. 

VDL Containersystemen 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62 

May 2013

INTERMODAL 

CargoBeamer for Calais-Poland run 

French property developer DCB International 

is proceeding with Calais 

Premier, a new logistics park that 

aims to become one of the leading gateways 

for goods distribution between the 

UK and continental Europe. 

Calais Premier is the biggest logistics 

project in northern France, with a total 

surface area of 160-ha. It is located in the 

Turquerie industrial zone, which stretches 

along the Calais-Dunkirk railway line 

between the Port of Calais and the Channel 

Tunnel terminal at Fréthun. 

The first phase of the project with a 

surface area of 50-ha is due for completion 

by 2014 and is expected to have 

220,000 m 2 of warehousing, 50,000 m 2 

of industrial parks, and 11,000 m 2 of commercial 

property. The project owner, the 

Cap Calaisis urban community, is planning 

to invest €2B to create a railway junction 

at the site as well as modernising the 

whole Calais-Dunkirk railway line. 

On top of that, the Calais 2015 port 

project is aimed at doubling the size of 

the port. Franck Edouard Tiberghien, strategic 

development director of CCI Côte 

d’Opale, which manages and operates the 

port, says that the plan is to build a new 

sea wall to shelter 110-ha of new dock 

area to the north of the existing port. The 

entrance channel will be dredged to a 

depth of 13m and a new rail terminal will 

be constructed between the two basins. 

The project is estimated at €600M and 

is backed by the Nord Pas-de-Calais regional 

government. The new berths 

would be used for ro-ro and lo-lo as Calais 

looks to a wider short sea shipping/ 

motorway of the sea vocation. “Calais will 

assert its strategic position as a European 

crossroads,” stated the town’s mayor, 

Natacha Bouchart. 

Beaming at the gate 

As previously reported, Germany-based 

CargoBeamer is installing a rail terminal 

(called “CargoGate”) at Calais Premier 

that will enable standard road semi-trailers 

deployed in UK-Continent logistics 

flows to be switched onto CargoBeamer 

trains. Hence, truck drivers would be required 

only for the UK trunk haul and 

the crossing to Calais via Eurotunnel or 

ferry. (As an aside, it may be worth noting 

that with Eurotunnel’s freight shuttle, 

there is no alternative to the road tractor 

going with the trailer. For a ferry, however, 

it may be possible to drop the trailer 

in Dover, ship it unaccompanied to Calais 

and then engage another tractor head 

for the short haul between the port and 

the CargoBeamer terminal). 

CargoBeamer aims to create a “rail 

motorway” connecting the UK and 

France with Eastern Europe and Russia. 

Speaking at a recent Calais Premier presentation 

in London, CargoBeamer’s sales 

director Michael Baier said: “Cargo- 

Beamer offers the only fully automated 

system for transferring non-cranable 

semi-trailers on and off the railway. Within 

one of our CargoGates, we can shift up 

to 10 times more trailers to trains than a 

crane terminal can operate. 

“We have chosen to base our facility 

at Calais Premier as it is strategically an 

important location, close to the UK and 

the extensive European rail network.” 

CargoBeamer uses parallel, rather than 

sequential, loading, so trailers can be 

loaded on the train within 15 mins. 

Very ambitious 

CargoBeamer’s long-term goals are highly 

ambitious. It aims to have up to 75 

CargoGates in Europe, creating a network 

of all freight centres and connecting all 

European cities, from Glasgow in the 

north west to Moscow and Istanbul in 

the east. However, a basic constraint would 

be the available structure gauge. A 

CargoBeamer trailer would not be able 

to operate anywhere in the UK, for example, 

except on HS1 between the Channel 

Tunnel mouth at Cheriton and London-Barking. 

As previously reported, CargoBeamer 

has conducted extensive trials with its 

prototype CargoGate in Leipzig, where 

the company is based. And as reported in 

the January 2013 edition of WorldCargo 

News (p1), Volkswagen is committing to 

a CargoBeamer service for trailers loaded 

with automotive parts. CargoGates will 

be built at the VW plant in Wolfsburg and 

in Bettembourg in Luxembourg. On detraining 

in Bettembourg, the trailers will 

be transferred by terminal tractors to the 

Lorry-Rail service using the Modalohr 

horizontal technique between Bettembourg 

and Perpignan. In Perpignan the 

trailers will be switched to road for onward 

shipment into Spain. 

Berlin and Legnica 

The first CargoBeamer service from Calais 

Premier will operate to Berlin and then 

onwards to Legnica in southern Poland. 

Corresponding CargoGate terminals will 

be built in both locations. This means that 

distinct Berlin-Calais and Berlin-Legnica 

services could be offered as well as Calais-Berlin-Legnica. 

Initially, says Cargo- 

Beamer’s managing director Hans-Jürgen 

Weidemann, there will be two train/pairs 

week, but it is hoped to develop business 

up to daily train pairs. The company is 

currently analysing the details of its service 

schedule with the rail track authorities 

and prospective traction partners. 

The Channel tunnel is not competitive 

for UK-Germany/Eastern Europe 

rail freight. CargoBeamer at least gets the 

traffic off the roads on the Continent. 

On the designated route, the 

CargoBeamer trains have a capacity for 

36 wagons (ie 36 trailers) with a maxi- Marshalling a standard road trailer alongside the CargoBeamer wagons 

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news 

May 2013 63


news 

INTERMODAL 

Horizontal transfer of trailer onto wagon bed 

mum trailer weight of 37t. The structure 

gauge clearance on the route is reported 

to be P400/C400, so 4m high trailers can 

be carried on the wagons, even though 

the platform height is 320mm, 50mm 

higher than a pocket wagon for conventional 

unaccompanied combined transport. 

Weidemann adds that a corresponding 

P/C400 permit has to be issued by 

the track authorities to the rail operators. 

This was successfully executed for pilot 

transports with the CargoBeamer wagons 

in 2012 during which it transported 

4m high trailers. The company is not 

aware of any physical modifications required 

to the upper or lower structure 

gauge profiles on the line of route. 

Weidemann adds that so far 

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The “British” CargoGate terminal will be 

located in Calais Premier logistics park 

CargoBeamer has been almost completely 

privately-funded. Support is available as 

part of the EU’s Marco Polo programme 

for the ESTRaB project, which covers 

CargoBeamer transports between Rotterdam 

and the Baltic including rail gauge 

switching at the Poland/Lithuania border 

and a CargoGate terminal in Lithuania. 

This gauge switching facility is under 

construction now. Lithuanian transportation 

and energy company Achema is part 

of the ESTRaB project. 

High system costs 

According to last year’s study by 

KombiConsult for the UIRR, overall system 

costs of CargoBeamer are ca. 40% 

higher than the system costs of conventional 

unaccompanied combined transport 

(UCT) for semi-trailers loaded onto 

pocket wagons by cranes or reach stackers. 

This analysis was made in relation to 

transalpine combined transport axes 

through Switzerland (for review, see World- 

Cargo News, February 2013, pp37-38). 

CargoBeamer caters for standard noncranable 

trailers, or around 80% of the 

European semi-trailer market, which is 

not capturable by lo-lo UCT. In this context, 

however, Kombi-Consult posed an 

important question for suppliers of horizontal 

loading systems for non-cranable 

semi-trailers, such as Cargo-Beamer, 

Modalohr and Kockums Industrier. 

When road transport firms procure 

non-cranable semi-trailers, they do so 

because they intend to use them in accompanied 

over-the-road services; the 

distances may be too short for combined 

transport to compete, or they are not capable 

of forwarding the trailers unaccompanied 

by rail, as they do not have an organisation 

at both ends of the rail leg or 

the critical mass for regular shipments on 

given corridors. 

For a company that can systematically 

and regularly make use of UCT, the extra 

price for a cranable semi-trailer of 

€1500-2000 will be amortised in a few 

journeys and the extra tare of around 300 

kgs is not really significant, especially as 

these days most loads “cube out.” 

In context 

These are sharp points, but they have to 

be seen in the context of established UCT 

corridors. What about east-west trade 

routes such as north east France-southern 

Poland where there are no established 

UCT corridors and where, up to now, 

there has been no tradition of shipping 

semi-trailers by rail and no alternative to 

long haul road transport 

East-west transit through Germany 

and Germany-East Europe road transport 

is becoming increasingly unacceptable to 

German public opinion; the autobahns are 

congested and there are too many accidents, 

leading to huge tailbacks, extra 

pollution and so on. Hans-Jürgen 

Weidemann points to some key “drivers” 

for CargoBeamer and the ability to use 

standard trailers without any modification 

is only the start. 

Other key factors are the total transport 

price, including “soft” issues such as 

insurance, damage costs, wear on the truck 

and driver, the shortage of long-distance 

drivers, higher turnover with the same 

number of trucks and drivers, compulsory 

rest regulations (9h driving/11h 

pause), autobahn truck bans on Sundays 

and public holidays, congestion and pollution, 

transport sustainability, and so on. 

64 

May 2013

INTERMODAL 


news 

Swiss get tunnel vision 

In combination with new large-scale terminals 

in Switzerland, the NEAT (Neue 

Eisenbahn Alpen Transversale) line is able to 

bring further traffic volumes of maritime 

and continental traffic to the tracks, argues 

Swiss UIRR company Hupac, as it 

brings long, flat track passing loops and 

sufficient route profile (P400). If these 

three infrastructural prerequisites for the 

Gotthard corridor are present, an annual 

benefit of CHF135M can be achieved for 

combined operators, railway companies 

and infrastructure providers. 

This is the result of a master thesis 

developed on behalf of the Cargo Forum 

Schweiz association. The required infrastructure 

comprises the NEAT, extension 

of passing loops, and the 4m corridor. The 

aggregate benefit of these three measures 

corresponds to 75% of the operational 

contributions the Swiss federal government 

grants to combined traffic each year. 

The construction of the 4m corridor, 

the decision concerning which will be 

made by the Swiss Parliament in the next 

few months, is a worthwhile project from 

an economic point of view, insists Hupac, 

and economic added value is particularly 

high for the Luino line. “Abandonment 

of the adaptation of this highly frequented 

route will result in a value-destroying scenario 

for the overall investment of the 4m 

corridor,” stated Hans-Jörg Bertschi, president 

of Hupac at the company’s annual 

results conference in Zurich in May. 

Italian connection 

“Pre-financing of the construction work 

in Italy is necessary in order to make use 

of the potential added value as soon as 

possible. It is essential that negotiations 

regarding the implementation of the 4m 

corridor on the Luino and Chiasso lines 

continue as top priority...in the absence 

of an adaptation of the routes up to the 

terminals in Italy, benefits will fail to materialise 

along the entire traffic corridor.” 

Hupac is again expressing concern that 

the Italians will not make the necessary 

investments in tracks and terminals to 

maximise the potential of the new 

Gotthard base tunnel. The problem is that 

this key transalpine intermodal corridor 

is only as efficient and adapted to market 

requirements - in particular the need to 

cater for 4m high semi-trailers on standard 

P270 pocket wagons - as its weakest 

link allows it to be. 

Concern has also been expressed 

about the ability of combi-terminals in 

Germany to cope with the potential extra 

traffic that the Gotthard base tunnel 

creates, particularly in terms of access for 

collection and delivery drayage trucks. 

Of course, with the exception of 

standard road trailers, these factors also 

play to lo-lo UCT, but the vast majority 

of trailers in east-west trade lanes cannot 

make use of it and combined transport 

services are not well-established anyway. 

Over time, CargoBeamer may become 

a kind of “feeder” for unaccompanied 

combined transport. As road transport 

firms become more confident in unaccompanied 

rail for the long haul, if they 

have critical mass for regular use of rail 

they will increasingly look to unaccompanied 

combined transport. Critically, 

however, CargoBeamer says it knows already 

that on its selected east-west routes 

it can beat the truck on price. 

Response to failure 

It looks as though CargoBeamer’s Calais 

terminal may be able to position itself as 

the answer to the almost complete failure 

of the Channel tunnel to deliver viable 

UK-Germany/Eastern Europe 

intermodal services. 

To the extent that structure gauge is a 

factor in this, only one route in Great 

Britain is capable of handling high cube 

swap bodies and piggyback trailers, HS1 

between the tunnel and London-Barking. 

The Dover Straits “retail” services - 

Le Shuttle Fret and the ferries - are sucking 

in British o/d traffic from up to 100 

miles north and west of London. Cargo- 

Beamer provides an alternative mode, at 

least on the French side of the water. ❏ 

The state-of-the-art freight corridor via 

Gotthard makes up a major part of the 

operational requirement for combined 

traffic, says Hupac 

Hupac already caters for 4m high trailers 

via the Lötschberg and Brenner Pass, 

on which routes it operates around 130 

shuttle trains a week. The study carried 

out in 2012 by KombiConsult in Germany 

for the Brussels-based UIRR has 

shown that semi-trailers are becoming 

more important again for unaccompanied 

combined transport in Europe, and especially 

on the transit routes through Switzerland 

(see WorldCargo News, February 

2013, pp37-38). However, with the 

execption of road tankers and trailers specifically 

built for dense, heavy cargoes, the 

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May 2013 65


news 

INTERMODAL 

overall height of the vast majority of 

standard curtainsider of box-type semitrailers 

is 4m, so structure gauge restrictions 

limit their transferability to rail. 

Switch to artics 

The increase in trailer traffic is bound up 

with the gradual switch from road trains. 

KombiConsult found that the split was 

roughly 50:50 in transit via Switzerland 

in 1992, but has now moved decisively 

towards artics, with a figure of 758,000, 

or 71.4% share, in 2010. 

Why is this According to the firm, 

key factors include the changes in logistics 

processes following liberalisation of 

road transport in Europe (starting from 

1985) and the big increase in transport 

capacity following the break-up of 

Comecon and the gradual integration of 

This way, valuable synergies are 

leveraged, since Swiss combined import/ 

export traffic is for a large part continental. 

Equipping terminals for swap bodies 

and semitrailers is a “must.” The aim must 

be to concentrate the largest possible volthe 

Eastern European economies into the 

European goods supply structure. This demand 

could be met most quickly and effectively 

by semi-trailers. 

Related to that point, artics have more 

favourable driving dynamics than road 

trains and it is easier to manoeuvre them 

in reverse, so the new pool of drivers from 

Eastern Europe could adapt more easily. 

In terms of unaccompanied combined 

transport, the key comparators are a semitrailer 

and a road train with two C type 

swap bodies, mounted on the rigid platform 

and the drawbar chassis. Both provide 

the operator with a deal of flexibility, 

since they can equally be used for longdistance 

road transport if for some reason 

the combined transport alternative is unavailable 

or is uncompetitive. The A type 

swap body, however, is generally not freestanding, 

so it relies on heavy lifting equipment, 

normally found only in the combined 

transport terminal, to lift it on and 

off the chassis. To that extent, 12m-13.6m 

long swap body operators are “locked in” 

to combined transport. 

The planned large-scale terminals 

Basel-Nord and Zürich Limmattal open 

up new perspectives for combined traffic. 

From Hupac’s point of view, terminals 

should have a concentration function 

on the north-south axis that is as 

broad as possible, also regarding the opening 

of the NEAT and the impending extension 

of the Ligurian sea ports (to create 

a viable alternative to the Rhine sea 

ports for Swiss shippers). The terminals 

must cater for maritime and continental 

traffic, as is usual in the large European 

hinterland terminals. 

Overall volume for Hupac was off by almost 11% in 2012 

umes, in order to guarantee economic operation 

of the terminals and, on the other 

hand, to allow the formation of block 

trains for efficient forwarding of traffic on 

the territory. The new terminals must be 

integrated fully into an overall concept. 

Commercial drive 

Private business aspects should be of major 

importance to the organising institution 

and operators of the future large-scale 

terminals. The future operator(s) should 

already be involved in the project planning 

phase, because an optimised, economically 

sustainable layout is decisive for 

efficient operation. Hupac supports a 

mixed organisation regarding the terminals, 

involving all key stakeholders. 

By means of the “Rail traffic on the 

territory” Bill submitted to the legislative 

process through consultation in April, 

the federal government is framing new 

boundary conditions for import/export 

traffic. Hupac welcomes equal consideration 

of freight traffic during the planning 

phase and advocates the principle of economic 

viability. 

Start-up financing of new rail products 

by the federal government must, 

however, be called into question, it says, 

because there is a risk of market distortion 

and cannibalisation of existing offers. 

From an international perspective, 

this type of financing concept has not 

proved successful. Planned new financial 

assistance for non-economically viable 

regional rail freight by a joint effort of 

cantons and the federal government must 

be critically assessed. It creates new subsidies 

and reinforces bottlenecks in the 

rail infrastructure. In Hupac’s view, only 

support for geographically-handicapped 

peripheral regions is reasonable. 

Traffic down 

For the record, Hupac carried 646,214 

shipments (1.3M TEU) in the 2012-13 

financial year ended 31 March. This volume 

represents a decrease of 10.7% from 

the previous year. The main reason for 

the negative traffic development was cited 

as weak demand for transport services as 

a result of the current economic crisis in 

Europe and particularly in Italy. 

Traffic through Switzerland was put 

under additional strain by three total closures 

of the Gotthard line lasting 40 days 

in all. Further restrictions were imposed 

by construction work on the Lötschberg/ 

Simplon axis. Overall, the route via Switzerland 

recorded a 11.9% reduction in 

consignments, around half of which was 

due to the line closures. 

In transalpine traffic via Austria, Hupac 

achieved a growth of 0.7%. This was particularly 

due to the efficient 4m corridor 

for the transportation of P400 semi-trailers. 

Hupac was able to strengthen its market 

position in this segment. There was a 

reduction of 20.1% in non-transalpine 

import/export traffic. 

Consolidation 

As a result of the negative economic environment, 

Hupac was forced to adjust 

capacity and consolidate services between 

the Rhine sea ports and Switzerland. The 

transport axes Benelux/Germany-Poland/Russia, 

Benelux/Germany-Austria/ 

Hungary/Romania and Benelux-Spain 

also witnessed consolidation and the adjustment 

of operational concepts. 

Due to the decline in volume, turnover 

decreased by 7.8% to around 

CHF454.5M. Thanks to rigid cost control, 

Hupac says, it achieved a satisfactory 

operating profit of CHF4.4M (+65.6%). 

Investments in tangible fixed assets came 

to CHF33.3M and were primarily related 

to the purchase of rail wagons, the completion 

of the Busto Arsizio-Gallarate terminal 

and the building of the wheel-set 

refurbishing centre of Busto Arsizio. ❏ 

66 

May 2013


Container terminals still E-power mad 

As first reported in last month’s WorldCargo 

News, Terex Noell Crane Systems (China) 

Ltd, majority-owned by Terex Port Solutions, 

has been awarded a contract worth 

US$40M by PTP Tanjung Pelepas for 26 

E-RTGs, with an option for 32 more. 

PTP is also engaged in a project to convert 

all its existing RTGs to mains power. 

Noell China has previously supplied 

conventional RTGs to PTP, but this order 

is the biggest single order for RTGs 

it has received. The machines will be built 

at its facility in Xiamen. As also previously 

reported, PTP has two new berths 

under construction along a 720m long 

linear quay. These are scheduled to open 

in May next year and the RTGs will be 

deployed in the new yard. They are 7 + 

1/1 over 5 x 9ft 6in high machines with 

an SWL of 50t. Gantry speed is up to 

136 m/min (empty travel) and trolley 

traverse speed is 70 m/min. 

The new RTGs will run off a 

Conductix-Wampfler conductor rail, under 

that company’s frame agreement with 

APM Terminals, but they will also be 

equipped with an auxilary diesel generator 

to allow them to change lanes or move 

out of the stack for maintenance, etc. 

Conversion project 

PTP declined WorldCargo News’ request 

for comment on its new E-RTGs and its 

RTG retrofit programme, which could 

involve up to 120 installed RTGs and 

would make a major contribution to improving 

local air quality and significantly 

reduce CO 2 

emissions and noise levels. 

Typically RTGs account for more than 

half the diesel fuel consumption in an 

RTG-based terminal, although this figure 

has come down because of proprietary 

systems such as Siemens’ ECO- 

RTG, Control Techniques’ RISGA and 

the general trend towards variable speed 

generators, which reduce idling speeds. 

According to data from Conductix- 

Wampfler, a diesel RTG typically accounts 

for 454,000 kg of CO 2 

e/year. Theoretically 

an E-RTG accounts for 188,000 kg/ 

CO 2 

e, but in practice about 10% of the 

running time will be diesel (block 

changes, travel for maintenance, etc), so 

that figure is adjusted upwards to 215,000 

kg, still a massive CO 2 

e reduction of 52%. 

A conventional (non “eco”) RTG 

consumes around 21 litres/hour of diesel 

fuel, using a benchmark of 10 hoist 

moves/hour (2-3 RTGs per STS crane). 

For this case, Conductix-Wamplfer calculates 

a fuel cost of US$22.5/hour (price 

of US$1.07/litre) or US$195,000/RTG 

year. In contrast, based on a grid price of 

US$0.2/kWh, and a power requirement 

of 40 kW for 10 moves/hour, the cost is 

US$8/hour or US$64,000/RTG year. 

Although diesel fuel prices have come 

down since 2008, they are less stable and 

therefore less predictable than grid prices, 

and there may also be security of supply 

questions to factor into a total life cost 

analysis. In addition, maintenance costs 

associated with diesel generators work out 

at around €5-6/hour. But that begs a 

question. Going forward, what will be the 

maintenance costs for busbars or cable 

management systems 

There may be more on this in a new 

report being drawn up by the Port Equipment 

Manufacturers’ Association (PEMA) 

in Brussels. PEMA’s members include 

Cavotec Group, Vahle, Conductix- 

Wamplfer, Prysmian and Tratos Cavi (but 

not Stemmann-Technik). 

There remains plenty of RTG electrification 

work around, for newbuilds and retrofits 

Northport goes electric 

PTP could prove to be a tricky installation 

for busbars, given the prevailing 

ground conditions, with plenty of differential 

settlement. Another Malaysian operator, 

Northport in Port Klang, is taking 

a different approach. The operator has just 

taken delivery of the first of 13 all-electric 

RTGs from Japan’s Toyo Umpanki 

Co (TCM). TCM has previously delivered 

straddle carriers and RTGs to 

Northport, but these latest units are 

Northport’s first E-RTGs. They will be 

delivered without a genset, instead using 

a Lithium-ion battery pack to change 

blocks as required. 

G Sundaraja Perumal, assistant general 

manager, equipment and maintenance at 

Northport, said that the company considered 

both a conductor rail and a cable 

reel system for powering the E-RTGs. In 

the end it opted for a cable reel system, 

mainly because the ground at Northport 

is subject to so much subsidence. The 

container yard is actually built on a swamp 

and even the paved RTGs runways are 

extremely uneven. 

This creates an issue with keeping a 

conductor rail relatively straight. While 

some deviation can be managed, 

Sundaraja said he has seen another terminal 

in Malaysia that has had problems 

with subsidence and conductor rails and 

Northport’s crane consultant, US-based 

Casper Phillips & Associates, also advised 

against it. 

The cable reel system has been supplied 

by Cavotec and will run on opposite 

sides of adjacent cranes (ie between 

two stacks), away from the truck lanes. A 

cable reel does not offer the “drive in” 

capability of the latest conductor bar sys- 

New E-RTGs from TCM being installed in 

Northport, Port Klang 

E-RTG TM 

with Plug-In Solution 

E-RTG TM 

with Drive-In P Solution 

E-RTG TM 

with Motorized Cable Reel Solution 

Visit us! Stand D44 

We add the “E” 

to your RTG 

Electrification of 

Rubber Tyred Gantries 

Converting a conventional RTG into an electrical one 

(E-RTG TM ) means to shut down the diesel generator and 

to power the RTG with electrical power only.This conversion 

is now possible with the complete RTG electric 

power solutions developed by Conductix-Wampfler: 

Plug-In Solution, Drive-In P & L Solution and 

Motorized Cable Reel Solution. 

We move your business! 

Drive-In L 

the new standard 

for RTG Electrification 

www.conductix.com 


news 

E-RTG-V3_EN_WCN_TOC_EU_130515.indd 1 15.05.2013 08:09:24 

May 2013 67


news 


68 

eRTG 

featuring 

fuel saver, 

cost saver, 

rapid power 

switcher. 

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Meet us from 25-27 June 2013: 

TOC Europe, Rotterdam/NL, booth D28 

tems, such as the Vahle installation 

at MTL, Hong Kong, for example 

(WorldCargo News, May 2012, 

pp60-61). However, Sundaraja said 

that Northport typically has maintenance 

people on site who can 

plug and unplug the cranes safely. 

The cable will run on the ground, 

with no special trench or protection 

system. As the truck lanes are 

on the “far side” of adjacent stacks, 

the cables are not exposed to 

heavy wheeled traffic. 

Sundaraja is satisfied that a Liion 

battery pack can meet Northport’s 

requirements without having 

a small genset for back up. The 

battery can supply enough power 

for two row crossings and 500m 

of long travel, which is more than 

adequate for Northport’s operational 

needs. Based on the robustness 

of the grid supply to the STS 

cranes, the company has no concerns 

about the lack of operating 

“redundancy” on the E-RTGs. 

A cable reel system has the 

advantage of familiar ground for 

port operators as the vast majority 

of the world’s all-electric 

dockside cranes operate with 

them and there is an opportunity 

for parts commonality. In principle, 

the operating system is exactly 

the same. Once the RTG has accelerated 

to its full travel speed, the 

rotation speed becomes constant, 

but the torque varies according to 

the mass of cable on the reel. 

A complicating factor is that 

many new RTGs are now specified 

with two long travel speeds, 

one for laden travel and a faster 

one for empty travel (typically almost 

three times the speed of STS 

crane gantry travel). 

Stay with festoons 

Northport has also taken delivery 

of the first two of six new STS 

gantry cranes from Hyundai 

Samho. All the cranes will be delivered 

with a festoon system 

rather than a cable chain. 

Sundaraja said festoons are a maintenance 

item, but he has seen cable 

chains where damage to one 

or more links has damaged the rest 

of the chain significantly as it slides 

upon itself, requiring the whole 

chain to be replaced. The downtime 

to order and replace a cable 

chain, he added, is significant. 

The first two cranes are relatively 

small (40m outreach) and 

will have a non-motorised festoon. 

The next four cranes are much 

larger (23-wide) and will have a 

Conductix-Wampfler motorised 

festoon. Northport has made one 

change to Wampfler’s standard system 

by specifying a different type 

of cable clamp at the bottom of 

the hanging loops. Normally these 

are a metal clamp, but Sundaraja 

said Northport has found that 

these can tear the insulation off 

the cable and it prefers a rubber 

band type clamp. 

Elsewhere in Malaysia, 

Conductix-Wampfler’s “Drive- 

In” system was installed on 4 x 

300m RTG blocks in the Port of 

Penang in 2011. 

Turkish deals 

As also reported last month, 

Konecranes is in the process of delivering 

eight E-RTGs to Eyvap 

Port in Istanbul. It is estimated that 

the RTGs, which are also 

equipped with network braking, 

will reduce energy consumption 

by up to 60% and reduce local 

emissions by up to 95%. Again, the 

E-RTGs will run off Conductix- 

Wampfler conductor rails. 

This is not the latest fully automated 

and electrified “Drive-In 

L” system from Conductix- 

Wampfler, but an earlier version 

that relies on a pneumatic arm, 

which is less compact and less 

“smooth” and takes more time to 

connect. This is because, as well as 

ordering new Konecranes RTGs, 

Eyvap is retrofitting (go to page 64) 

Above: A Noell China E-RTG, such as ordered by PTP Tanjung Pelepas. Below: 

panorama of PTP container yard 

Igus rolls them out 

Igus GmbH, a world leader in 

energy chains and polymer plain 

bearings, is continuing its growth 

trend. Despite difficult market 

conditions in 2012, turnover for 

the year increased by 5% to a 

record €399M, representing more 

than 4200 shipments from its 13 

global dispatch centres to 175,000 

customers around the world. 

All products are now developed 

and marketed in specific 

business divisions, although this 

does not involve any complications 

for the customers. Growth 

areas in 2012-13 include project 

business with enrgy chains, in the 

ports and industrial sectors. 

Major achievements in 2012 

included completion of a huge 

mechnical sludge processing plant, 

with a rotating arch bridge spanning 

almost 180m, for the Port of 

Antwerp and the Flemish authorities. 

Built and commissioned over 

a period of 30 months, the plant 

incorporates what Igus claims is 

the world’s biggest polymer energy 

chain, model E4.350, with a 

hose filling rate of more than 100 

kg per metre. 

It features additional interior 

separations for power and signal 

cables, and opening crossbars with 

low friction “iglidur” roller to 

guide the hoses as gently as possible. 

Similar chains are proven in 

heavy machinery construction, in 

steelworks and on oil platforms. 

Higher demands 

In the port crane sector, Igus notes 

that demands on energy chains 

have increased because of faster 

speed requirements and this dictates 

smooth running properties 

and low noise levels. 

The company specifically 

developed its P4 generation of 

roller energy chains for this purpose, 

whereby the rollers no 

longer roll over one another, 

and where all chain links have 

the same short pitch. 

One installation of a P4 e- 

roller system with 220m of long 

travel has been in operation for 

four years and, says the company, 

has proved to be a reliable and safe 

solution for transmission of both 

energy and data. 

With experience from this and 

other projects, Igus now offers systems 

for long travel application of 

all-electric RTGs. Igus energy 

chains are installed on the trolley 

travel of hundreds of STS cranes, 

RTGs, RMGs and ASCs and it 

also has long travel references on 

STS and barge-to-shore cranes. 

P4 is a modular system 

configurable for distances of up to 

1000m and it can cater for filling 

weights of up to 30 kg/m, or more 

if additional centre links are fitted. 

The upper and lower runs of 

the chain roll offset one another, 

so the polymer profile rollers, 

which are optimised for interaction 

in relative motion, are not 

rolled over. Instead they roll on a 

consistently wide area, which increases 

the service life of the chain. 

In addition, the pitch of the 

chain links is identical with and 

without rollers, which means the 

energy chain achieves particularly 

smooth and vibration-free movement 

in the radius. The rollers 

themselves are firmly integrated 

into the sides of the energy chain. 

“Auto-glide” cross-bars made 

of polymere that go easy on cables 

and a special groove system 

provide a safe guide for the energy 

chain, says Igus. The P4 system 

is available with inner heights 

of 32mm, 56mm or 80 mm and 

in different inner widths and central 

links for “infinite” widening. 

Different bending radii can be 

chosen according to cable layout. 

Igus offers a mixture of standard 

parts (e-chains, chainflex cables) 

and project-designed parts with the 

aim of meeting all requirements. In 

total the company has to date 

equipped more then 4000 port 

cranes with energy chain systems, 

including chainflex cables. ❏ 

A 125m long P4 roller energy chain installed in the outdoor testing facility at 

the Igus plant in Cologne 

May 2013


its existing Kalmar RTGs to run off the local 

grid. Vahle had a similar project in another 

Turkish port, Mardas, converting eight existing 

RTGs with a manual, plug-in system. 

Full redundancy 

Eyvap’s new RTGs are equipped with a 

full-size diesel generator (together with 

Konecranes’ diesel fuel saver technology) 

in case of electricity blackouts.Kim 

Salvén, Konecranes’ sales director, port 

cranes, Europe, considers that unless the 

operator is assured of 100% grid availability, 

it is safer to fit a full size diesel 

genset for redundancy. Otherwise a 

smaller genset can be fitted as it is only 

Induction course 

for urban buses 

Canada-based rail and aerospace giant 

Bombardier has launched an inductively 

charged battery propulsion system for 

buses and other industrial vehicles. Called 

PRIMOVE, the system uses inductive 

power transfer to charge batteries, either 

in motion or at rest. PRIMOVE was initially 

developed for trams, with a high 

charging rate designed to allow trams to 

charge at passenger stations without slowing 

their normal service speed. 

Bombardier has now adapted 

PRIMOVE for road and industrial vehicles 

and claims that it is particularly suited 

to vehicles that have a duty cycle with 

regular stops, such as horizontal transport 

in container terminals. 

Bombardier adds that PRIMOVE has 

an advantage over other inductive systems 

through its concept of “high power opportunity 

charging” that allows batteries 

to be smaller and lighter. The charging 

process itself is fully automated, safe and 

works in all ground conditions, including 

snow and ice. The first system on a 

passenger bus has recently been demonstrated 

in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Not hanging around 

The idea of applying inductive power to 

equipment in ports is not completely new. 

In the late 1990s, Vahle installed a CPS 

(contactless power system) together with 

its slotted microwave guide signalling system 

on the trolley of rope-driven (power 

requirement of just 50 kW) STS container 

cranes in the USA and in Hong Kong, as 

a complete alternative to a cable festoon. 

More recently TTS Group developed 

the C-AGV concept in association with 

Switzerland-based Numexia, which had 

developed suitable contactless energy 

transfer technology. The ground-based 

elements and coils would be placed under 

both the quay cranes and the ASC 

handover areas, while the energy picked 

up by the AGV-mounted coil would be 

stored in supercapacitors (WorldCargo 

News, October 2008, p47). 

The problem was not technology, but 

price, and TTS Group had to move away 

from this concept, although Numexia 

went on to develop a 3.5t 2-axle truck 

for urban goods delivery using contactless 

charging. 

More recently, of course, Gottwald has 

come up with a battery-electric AGV. 

Judging by the commercial success of this 

design in Rotterdam and Long Beach, it 

must be a cost-effective product. Partly 

this is to do with the fact that it uses leadacid 

batteries, which are far less expensive 

than Lithium-ion batteries and are 

also 100% recyclable. 

The lead-acid batteries are much bigger 

and heavier than equivalent Li-ion 

batteries and require more space, but this 

is not a problem in an AGV configuration. 

The battery array adds considerable 

weight and Gottwald has increased the 

size of tyres from 18.00-25 to 21.00-25. 

Inductive power will not go away from 

the ports, however. RTG lanes are in many 

ways an ideal location for contactless 

power transfer beds. This has been investigated, 

but for the time being it is still 

too expensive, since such a big moving 

mass would require beds at relatively short 

intervals. But in the future, who can say 

Another promising area for AGVs is 

hybrid drive using a regen energy store and 

a “rightsized” engine, as VDL is showing at 

ECT in Rotterdam. Looking ahead, a hybrid 

drive with fuel cells and some form 

of dynamic “primer” may also be in play. ❏ 

needed when the machine changes lanes. 

Over the life of the RTG the extra capital 

cost of a full size diesel genset is relatively 

low, while the maintenance and 

service costs are also relatively low as it is 

not used very often. 

Eyvap and GPA Savannah (the latter 

with Conductix-Wampfler’s Drive-In L 

- see WorldCargo News, January 2013, 

pp29-30) are Konecranes’ first E-RTG installations 

with busbars, and it is working 

on other projects. The E-RTGs in Savannah 

can switch between diesel and the 

grid via an auto-engage system. GPA expects 

them to operate on electrical power 

for around 90% of total hours. 

Most of Konecranes’ E-RTG installations 

to date have been with cable reels, 

usually from Cavotec, although it is open 

to other suppliers. As Salvén explains, 

where there are 2-3 RTGs over a stack, 

the power cable of the RTG that is nearest 

the turnover point located at midpoint 

of the runway is always on the top. 

The main requirement is to ensure that 

the channel is the correct depth as it must 

be covered to protect the cables from 

wheeled traffic. 

Another question with cable-powered 

RTGs is whether the diesel genset is fixed 

or can be mounted on a removable platform 

with FLT pockets. The latter can be 

a good solution if the machine does not 

change lane very often. ❏ 

Vahle’s conversion project at MTL, Hong Kong 

is the biggest RTG retrofit programme to date. 

Major new conversion projects are in hand at 

PTP Tanjung Pelepas and GPA Savannah. 

(Photo: Modern Terminals Ltd) 

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news 

Smart Landing ® 

 

Smart Move 

 

Vehicle Guidance 

May 2013 69

MEET ELME AT 

TOC EUROPE. 

STAND C14.


Braking cranes on the run 

In 2011 the Japanese Association 

for Cargo Handling Machinery 

Systems, in operation with the 

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure 

and Transport, Omaezaki Port and 

Shizuoka Prefectural Office conducted 

an experiment with dynamic 

rail clamps. As a result, dynamic 

rail clamps are now recommended 

for all Japanese ports. 

Not everyone in the braking 

industry agrees that rail clamps 

that act on the top of the crane 

rail are a good option for a dynamic 

storm brake. Several manufactures 

believe they are a holding 

brake only, and cranes should 

be equipped with wheel brakes to 

stop the crane in the long travel 

distance. However, many cranes 

are fitted with rail clamps with 

brake pads (rather than serrated 

shoes) to provide dynamic braking 

in an E-stop situation. 

Blown away 

In January 2010 a crane in the Port 

of Omaezaki was blown along the 

rail by wind. The port and the organisations 

listed above began a 

study to try and determine, 

amongst other things, whether rail 

clamps can effectively stop a crane 

in motion, and a realistic coefficient 

of friction (CoF) to use 

when specifying rail clamps 

(known as “rail brakes” in Japan). 

The biggest problem with rail 

clamps is that the crane rail is the 

braking surface. It can be wet, 

greasy from hydraulic oil and 

other contaminants, warped and 

uneven. To test some of these factors, 

Omaezaki used a crane on 

its west wharf fitted with a rail 

clamp with a pressing force of 500 

kN on top of the rail, generating 

a braking force of around 300 kN 

with a maximum stroke of 10mm. 

Two sets of brake pads were 

used: one measured 290 x 125mm 

In an effort to prevent crane 

runaways, dynamic rail clamps are 

now recommended in Japan 

and the other was half that size. 

The linings were a metal-based 

synthetic resin material. 

The dynamic CoF of the brake 

was calculated in a series of experiments 

where the crane was accelerated 

to a predetermined 

speed and the emergency stop 

button was then pressed. Tests were 

repeated over several months to 

assess the impact of wear of the 

brake pads, in dry and wet conditions 

and on a greasy rail. 

Wide variations 

The first results were quite random, 

with dynamic CoFs varying 

between 0.1 and 0.4. It made little 

difference whether the rail was 

wet or dry. Grease and oils, however 

dramatically cut the dynamic 

CoF to around 0.1, and once the 

pads were contaminated this could 

not be improved by cleaning. 

Further investigation revealed 

that the biggest factor affecting 

performance was the state of the 

crane rail and the clearance between 

the rail and brake pad. 

When the test was repeated on 

another section of crane rail where 

the clearance did not exceed the 

specifications of the clamp, the 

results were much more consistent, 

with dynamic CoF values in 

the range of 0.22 to 0.36 on wet 

and dry rails. Doubling the size of 

the brake pad had little effect. 

The study concluded that dynamic 

rail clamps are able to stop 

cranes in a reliable, predictable 

manner, but there is a need for rail 

clamps that have more stroke tolerance 

to accommodate uneven 

crane rails. Masharahu Sinohara, 

executive officer for engineering 

and planning at Osaka Port remarked 

that although rail clamps 

are not mandatory, they are now 

recommended and most new STS 

cranes in Japan have them. 

Long travel target 

In other developments, Chinese 

brake manufacturer Jiangxi 

Huawu Brake Company has made 

developing electromagnetic multidisc 

brakes and wheel brakes for 

gantry long travel applications a 

research priority. In recent years 

Huawu has focused on brakes for 

wind turbines and it achieved sales 

of Yuan50M in this market in 

2012. It is now targeting other 

industrial applications where imported 

products still dominate the 

domestic Chinese market, working 

with universities and the 

Jiangxi Provincial Science and 

Technology Department to develop 

new products. 

As far as growing its export 

business is concerned, Huawu recently 

stated its intention to “continue 

to intensify efforts to develop 

the international market.” It 

will try to leverage ZPMC’s overseas 

spare parts network to build 

a sales channel into overseas markets, 

but is also building an “international 

marketing team” to 

promote cooperation with foreign 

companies. 

Römer into Asia 

Germany-based manufacturer of 

brakes and other components 

Römer Fördertechnik GmbH has 

signed an exclusive representation 

agreement with Singapore-based 

Portek. Portek, which previously 

worked with Ican, will be Römer’s 

sole representative in the following 

markets: Singapore, Indonesia, 

Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, 

Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, 

Cambodia and Hong Kong. The 

agreement also covers countries 

where Portek is operating terminals 

- currently Algeria, Gabon, 

Malta, Rwanda and Latvia. 

In its brake product line 

Römer has developed a new 

thruster called the Turbo brake lifting 

system (TBLS) that reduces 

the brake actuation time from 

350-450 millisecs to 150 millisecs. 

Römer builds its own thrusters 

under the RBL (Römer Brems- 

Lüftgeräte) brand. Depending on 

the load, said the company, the 

apply time of a regular hydraulic 

thruster according to DIN 15430 

amounts to ca. 300-500 millisecs. 

By a special control of the pump 

motor, this apply time is reduced 

to about 150 millisecs, independent 

of the load (even in case of a 

power failure) with integrated uninterrupted 

power supply. 

The control system reduces the 

inrush current and the thermal 

load on the motor, which Römer 

says will improve service life significantly. 

The TBLS can be used 

with drum, disk and band brakes. 

Römer is making a concerted 

push into ports and has supplied 

crane OEMs including Hans 

Kuenz, Konecranes, Terex, KSR 

Germany (part of Kranunion) and 

Paceco España. It is also targeting 

storm brakes, where it claims that 

many brakes are actually undersized 

because they are specified with an 

unrealistically high CoF for the application. 

Römer is adamant that 

the only appropriate value is 

µ=0.25 according to DIN 15019, 

but says this is frequently exceeded. 

As regards other crane components, 

Römer has developed a 

new buffer system that enables the 

piston rod of the buffer to retract 

Italy-based RIMA Srl has kept up 

a busy stream of business this year, 

following a strong 2012. It has received 

multiple orders for storm 

brakes for container handling 

cranes, in particular for automated 

stacking cranes (ASCs) 

and bulk handling cranes, placed 

by OEMs in Germany, India, 

China and the Middle East. In 

addition, there were important orders 

for other hydraulic components 

including micro-motion control 

systems for port cranes and offshore 

applications. 

In the early part of this year 

more orders have come in, from 


news 

Römer’s Turbo brake lifting system actuates in just 150 millisecs 

when two cranes are working very 

closely together, and extend again 

when the cranes move apart. This 

will be particularly useful on retrofit 

applications where space is often 

constrained. ❏ 

RIMA storms forward 

OEMs including Mitsubishi 

Heavy Industries, Mitsui Engineering 

& Shipbuilding, Baltkran 

and PHB (in Spain). 

Highlight include the orders 

from Trans Gulf Port cranes (part 

of IMCC) in Abu Dhabi for the 

rail clamps and hydraulic trim, 

list and skew systems for 10 STS 

cranes and the rail brakes for 25 

ASCs it is building for DP World, 

Jebel Ali Terminal 3. 

The 40 ASCs being supplied 

by Kalmar to DP World 

London Gateway (phase 1) are 

also being furnished with 

RIMA rail brakes. ❏ 

RIMA rail clamp on STS container crane in the Far East 

STRONG. PINTSCH BUBENZER Emergency Brakes. Made in Germany. 

In the sectors of container handling, shipbuilding and offshore 

engineering, mining, the steel industry, utilization of wind, 

mechanical engineering and construction of special vehicles, 

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May 2013 71


news 

Pintsch Bubenzer charting a new path 

Pintsch Bubenzer is investing in a 

new generation of brakes while 

developing MYPort into a crane 

and terminal service company 

Pintsch Bubenzer GmbH (PB) recently 

held a 10th anniversary celebration 

for its Malaysian subsidiary 

PB MyPort Sdn Bhd (PBMY). 

In its short history MyPort has 

grown from a strategic Singapore 

branch office to what PB describes 

as a “global centre for crane braking 

systems.” 

PBMY now has 32 employees, 

including eight service engineers 

and eight mechanical and 

electrical engineers - more service 

personnel than PB has in Germany 

- and is extending its operations 

well beyond brakes. It 

operates from two facilities, a 

training centre at Tanjung Pelepas 

and a new building at nearby 

Gelang Patah. 

This requires considerable investment, 

and raises the question 

whether the Schaltbau Group, 

which owns PB through Pintsch 

Bamag, has a wider strategy that 

may eventually lead to starting 

brakes production in Malaysia. 

PB’s managing director 

Markus Topp said, however, that 

 

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■ Hydraulic Buffers 

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■ Industrial Brakes 

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■ Thrusters 

■ Brake Drums 

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■ Telescopic Forks 

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Rotterdam, June 25-27 

Stand No. E66 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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brake apply time approx.: 

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Quality ■ Safety ■ Efficiency 

the company is committed to 

maintaining manufacturing in 

Germany. The company wants to 

be at the forefront of developing 

new braking technology, and Topp 

does not believe this is possible if 

manufacturing is sent offshore. 

Cost is of course important, 

but PB has addressed it by investing 

in capital equipment to make 

manufacturing less labour-intensive, 

including machinery that 

performs multiple processes, and 

reconfiguring its factory so one 

operator controls two machines. 

This strategy requires capital 

and commitment, not just to invest 

in new equipment, but to 

develop the supporting labour 

force. PB needs workers with different 

skills than previously, and 

has actively engaged local universities 

and polytechnics to ensure 

it positions itself as an attractive 

option for young people. 

New centre 

PB has just opened a new research 

and development centre near its 

manufacturing facility in Kirchen- 

Wehbach. It will be able to meet 

increasing demand for documented 

tests as well as producing 

new products. It is equipped with 

dyno stands for high speed brakes 

and test benches for storm and 

emergency brakes. 

For the container crane market, 

the first new product will be 

an electro mechanical wheel brake, 

scheduled for release later this year. 

Current wheel brakes are hydraulically 

released and terminal operators 

would like to eliminate 

hydraulics as far as possible. PB has 

developed several prototypes and 

is now finalising a design to launch 

on the market later this year. 

Go with the cranes 

PB’s strategy with MyPort, said 

Topp, is driven by the need to take 

sales and service directly to the 

Asian market, which is now too 

big to be handled effectively out 

of Germany. In 2011 the company 

acquired 95% of PBMY and last 

year opened an office in Shanghai. 

It also has a US service and 

training centre (PBUS) in 

Flemington, New Jersey. 

Topp explains that PB has developed 

a policy of “know-how 

transfer” so local companies can 

provide a full service offering. 

Dealing with brake issues requires 

a wide range of skills. Brake wear 

is frequently caused by alignment 

RÖMER Fördertechnik GmbH 

The apply time of all our electro-hydraulically operated 

industrial brake systems can significantly be reduced to 

150 ms due to a special control of the electro-hydraulical 

thruster system. 

Stand E 24 

25.-27.06.2013 

issues in rope drum drive systems 

and, on some cranes, structural 

deflection in the machinery house 

floor. PBMY has built up considerable 

expertise, including a laser 

alignment system, to troubleshoot 

and fix braking problems. This includes 

selecting couplings and 

other components that match the 

wear characteristics of the crane 

as well as the technical specifications 

of the drive system. 

In the frame 

At a component level PBMY and 

PBUS are equipped and certificated 

to rebuild brakes and thrusters, so 

components no longer have to be returned 

to Germany for this service. 

This has enabled them to enter 

service contracts and “frame 

agreements” covering servicing 

and rebuilding of older brakes. 

PBUS has a frame agreement with 

the Port of Houston Authority 

and PBMY has a five-year agreement 

with Northport and a 2-year 

agreement covering PSA Singapore’s 

huge crane fleet. Brakes that 

are 15 years old, including brakes 

from other suppliers, are removed 

from service and rebuilt, tested and 

certified locally. 

PBMY is now moving beyond 

brakes and evolving into a wider 

service company. It is a partner 

with Siemens in the Siemens- 

Myport Regional Crane Training 

Centre at Tanjung Pelepas, which 

can train and certify a technician 

in Siemens drives and PLCs. It also 

offers gearbox rebuilds on Stiebel 

gearboxes, which are used in the 

Siemens ECO RTG system. 

PBMY’s managing director 

Suzannah E Jamain said drive refurbishment 

has huge potential. 

There are many old GE drives in 

Malaysia on cranes from Impsa, 

Doosan, Favelle Favco and Muhibaha. 

PBMY has worked with terminals 

to keep these up and running, 

but many are now at the 

point where they need replacing. 

PBMY is also working further 

afield, and recently completed a 

project to retrofit two Mitsubishi 

STS cranes in Dubai, replacing GE 

DC drives with a Siemens system. 

In Malaysia, PBMY is moving into 

the container yard, where it offers 

installation and commissioning for 

the Stemmann Technik E-RTG 

conductor bar system, and it is 

developing a DGPS-based container 

position system and wireless 

LAN installation and support. 

SOS message 

The first two cranes with the SOS 

electro mechanical snag and over- 


Northport Klang is fitting its new STS cranes with the Pintsch Bubenzer 

Malmedie SOS snag load protection system 

load prevention system in Asia are 

now undergoing commissioning 

at Northport in Port Klang, Malaysia. 

The cranes are the first of 

five Northport has ordered from 

Hyundai Samho. Northport’s assistant 

general manager, equipment 

and maintenance, G 

Sundaraja Perumal believes that 

there are two main benefits from 

the SOS system: a reduction in 

crane weight by eliminating hydraulic 

snag cylinders at the boom 

tip; and reduced maintenance. 

The first two cranes will operate 

on a quay with a wheel limit 

of 40t per metre. Northport 

wanted twin lift capability and its 

consultant, Casper Phillips & Associates, 

designed a crane with a 

55t SWL over the 40m outreach 

weighing just 1250t (with 10 

wheels per corner to spread the 

load). Every opportunity to save 

weight was important. 

Most snag events at Northport 

actually happen on smaller, older 

vessels with damaged cell guides. 

Northport has hydraulic anti snag 

systems on other cranes and 

Sundaraja said they require regular 

maintenance, particularly as 

they age and start to leak. He 

would like to eliminate hydraulics 

wherever possible and, as well 

as the SOS system, the new cranes 

will have a mechanical screw type, 

trim, list and skew system. 

Brake monitoring 

Another area where Sundaraja 

expects significant benefits is having 

the brake monitoring system 

integrated with the main crane 

monitoring system (CMS). PB’s 

latest computer brake monitoring 

system, called CMB2, connects to 

the crane PLC via Profibus and is 

pre-integrated with the CMS before 

the crane is delivered. 

Sundaraja said Northport has 

changed its approach to buying 

cranes. It the past it relied on the 

OEM to engineer the drive, but 

now it requires the drive supplier 

to engineer, install and commission 

the drive itself. It is taking a 

similar approach with brakes and 

PB is designing the whole braking 

system and maintaining it under 

its existing 5-year agreement. 

Northport previously tried to 

outsource maintenance to a general 

service company, but has not 

been happy with some of the results. 

“What we are doing now, said 

Sundaraja, “is identifying the critical 

components where we want 

the component suppliers to be 

involved in regular inspections and 

maintenance.” ❏ 

Pintsch Bubenzer is developing an electro mechanical wheel brake for long 

travel applications 

Replacement 

for -er 

www.rft-germany.com 

72 

May 2013


Look into the eyes of the crane 

How 3D-laser technology supports 

automated container handling 

and supplies exact position 

data for the crane control, is shown 

by the example of automatic 

stacking cranes (ASCs) from 

Kalmar at HHLA’s Buchardkai 

terminal (CTB) in Hamburg. 

Container terminal operators 

are deploying more and more improved 

automation solutions to 

enhance productivity. This is particularly 

important when handling 

capacity is limited by non-extendable 

stacking areas and absence of 

expansion possibilities, such as at 

CTB Hamburg, where the remit 

was to double capacity within the 

same “footprint.” 

CTB converted from straddle 

carriers to dense ASC blocks. The 

conversion entails a total of 29 

300m blocks, 5-high and 10-wide. 

There are three ASCs per block, 

with a bigger crane able to pass 

two smaller ones. 

Kalmar (Cargotec) was commissioned 

with the ASC project 

and, as supplier for laser measuring 

technology, LASE Industrielle 

Lasertechnik was elected as subcontractor. 

The deployed laser 

measuring system fulfils the following 

tasks: 

● Measurement of the container 

position inside the stack 

● Measurement of neighbouring 

stacks to determine the open space 

for lowering the spreader 

● Measurement of position reference 

marks (PRM) on the terminal 

floor for a longstanding stable 

and exact stacking 

● Height measurement of the container 

stacks 

● Measurement of road trucks 

● Stack collision prevention 

The components of the laser 

measurement system are two 3Dlaser 

scanners and an industrial- 

PC. The 3D-laser scanner consists 

of a 2D-laser scanner, a servo drive 

and a platform (Figure 1). The platform 

is turned through the servo 

drive and on this rotating platform 

a 2D-laser scanner is mounted. 

A high resolution encoder, 

which is mounted on the servo 

drive, measures the rotation angle 

of the platform. By connecting the 

data from the 2D-laser scanners 

and the encoder, a 3D-image of 

the measurement data is generated. 

Measuring principle 

The 3D-laser scanners are 

mounted opposite each other on 

each side of the ASC trolley. According 

to the measuring task, the 

3D-laser technology and position 

data for container handling* 

* This article is adapted from a paper 

by Dipl.Ing. Lars Ambrosy, joint 

managing director of LASE 

Industrielle Lasertechnik GmbH and 

LASE PeCo Systemtechnik GmbH. 

For further information contact 

Christian Janusch, LASE’s marketing 

manager. (c.jagusch@lase.de) 

laser scanners are swivelled into 

the area(s) required. By way of 

example, container pick-up is depicted 

in Figure 2 and Figure 3. 

Both 3D-laser scanners can be 

seen at the top of the trolley. Each 

scan area is marked in pink. One 

of the scan areas overlaps the position 

reference mark (PRM). Figure 

2 shows the position of the 

spreader (yellow) and the position 

of the container (red), whereby 

both positions have to correlate. 

The laser measuring system 

measures the position of the container 

relative to the spreader position 

and the difference is transferred 

to the crane control system. 

Now the crane control can track 

the spreader accordingly by 

micromotion and the container 

can be precisely picked or landed. 

Raw data 

The 3D-laser scanners deliver a 

3D-measurement data image 

(point cloud) for scene editing. 

The application program implements 

the following tasks with the 

raw data: 

● Extraction - data filtering 

● Algorithms for position determination 

of “remarkable points” 

(container edges, position reference 

marks, etc) 

● Conjunction of measurement 

data from both 3D-laser scanners 

● Generation of output data (X, 

Y, Z) for crane control system. 

Figure 4 illustrates the position 

reference marks on the ground 

and also the upper edge of a 40ft 

container at the highest stacking 

height. The other containers in the 

underlying levels are visible as well 

(these data will not be used). The 

“box” depicted is the outlined 

measurement result of the laser 

measurement system. 

Fig 3: Container pick-up, scanner positions, reference marks and scan planes 

Fig 1: 3D-scanner measuring principle 

Fig 2: Depiction of the relative 

container/spreader positions 

Position references 

The position reference marks are 

responsible for the following tasks: 

● Verification of the crane and trolley 

position after reaching the calculated 

position 

● Long-term stable and exact container 

stacking even after subsidence 

of the terrain 

● Container position on the truck 

Pick and landing of containers 

from/to road trucks is supported 

by the laser measurement 

system. Due to this, a semi-automated 

operation is possible 

whereby the spreader is already 

pre-positioned above the truck/ 

container or the container above 

Fig 6: 3D view of block and landside 

transfer area 

the trailer. The last work stages are 

performed by remote crane 

operators.Figure 5 illustrates a 

point cloud with the detected 

container position on the truck. 

Closing the gap 

The latest developments from 

LASE will close the logistical gap 

by using further lasers to determine 

the twistlock positions of the 

road trailer. For a fully automatic 

takeover of the container to/from 

the trailer, Kalmar has ordered 

these systems for its projects at 

London Gateway, Trapac Los Angeles 

and Brisbane. With the 3Dimage 

of the stacks an optimised 


news 

Fig 5: Point cloud with detected container position on road truck 

drive of the load through the stack 

is possible (see Figure 6). 

The 3D-laser scanners - the 

eyes of the crane - are a core part 

of container handling with ASCs. 

The measurement system distinguishes 

itself through omni-functionality, 

high accuracy and by 

simple commissioning and maintenance. 

This type of system can 

also be used on STS cranes and 

RTGs, if higher capacity, personnel 

reduction and faster handling 

are deemed as crucial. ❏ 

We are an Independent spreader company 

Created by some of the most experienced professionals in the world 

Highly reliable and easy to maintain. 

Global network of sales and service personnel 

SweFrame Port Equipment AB 

Fagerstagatan 4, SE-163 53 Spånga, Sweden 

Phone +46 8 4105 6820 

sales@sweframe.com 

www.sweframe.com 

The Spreader Professionals 

Figure 4: Measuring points of a laser scanner (40ft container in tier 5) 

May 2013 73


news 

MSC goes on camera in Antwerp 

There are two vision systems that 

have been implemented at MSC 

Home Terminal. One is a safety 

system that has been installed on 

23 STS cranes to give drivers a 

view of the crane portal area as 

the trolley is travelling backwards 

towards the shore. The second is a 

positioning system that has now 

been installed on 102 straddle carriers, 

to line up containers underneath 

them with the trolley position 

of the STS cranes. 

MSC Home Terminal has installed 

two new camera systems from 

vision specialist Orlaco 

Orlaco provided this graphic to illustrate the set-up on the STS cranes 

Safety in view 

Like many terminal operators 

MSC Home Terminal, located at 

the Delwaidedock in Antwerp, 

wanted to improve its safety performance 

by addressing areas 

where people and equipment 

work in close proximity. 

The work zone in the crane 

portal and backreach was a zone 

of particular concern. Workers 

would draw chalk lines on the 

ground to indicate where straddle 

carrier drivers should place 

containers. STS drivers travelling 

backwards relied on a mirror underneath 

the crane cab to see 

whether the area was clear when 

trolleying back from a vessel. 

Orlaco has developed a modular 

range of camera systems that 

can be used for applications ranging 

from improving visibility in 

safety black spots right up to supporting 

full remote controlled 

operations. MSC Home Terminal 

had seen the straddle carrier positioning 

system at APM Terminals 

Zeebrugge and decided to implement 

something similar at its own 

operation, which is the largest terminal 

in Antwerp. 

In line, in position 

The straddle carrier system uses 

cameras that are mounted on 

the spreader to show the driver 

when the centre of his spreader 

is lined up with the centre of 

the crane portal. Grounding the 

containers in the right place 

means the STS crane driver can 

land his spreader without having 

to use side shift on the 

spreader or, even worse from a 

productivity and power use 

standpoint, use gantry long 

travel to move the crane. 

Orlaco’s business development 

manager Twan Pelders explains that 

the system works using compact 

cameras mounted in the exact middle 

of the spreader on vibrationresistant 

mountings. The camera 


More than 100 straddle carriers of different makes and age had to be kitted out 

detects reflective strips stuck to the 

sides of the sill beam on the cranes 

in different positions for 20ft, 40ft 

and twin 20ft containers. 

In the cab, the driver looks at 

a screen that shows a software 

image of the centre line of the 

spreader. When the container is in 

the right place the line on the 

screen overlays the line on the 

crane sill beam. MSC Home Terminal 

chose to use two cameras, 

one either side of the spreader, that 

feed separate displays on either 

side of the driver. 

Only one view is needed to 

position a container correctly, but 

having two cameras means a straddle 

carrier can enter the backreach 

travelling in forward or reverse and 

either camera will be able to see 

the line on the sill beam. 

Going well 

MSC Home Terminal’s assistant 

manager, rolling equipment, 

Jurgen De Breuck, said the system 

performs very well. Some 

straddle carrier drivers did not 

want to use it initially, but MSC 

Home Terminal made a decision 

that having people in the traffic 

flow drawing chalk lines on the 

ground was an unacceptable hazard 

and drivers have now adapted. 

Installation was relatively 

straight forward. The cameras are 

connected to the cab monitors by 

cable running through the straddle 

carrier’s umbilical or cable 

chain to the spreader (fibre optic 

cable is not required). 

The main challenge was installing 

the system on such a 

large fleet of straddle carriers 

(mainly Terex and Cargotec 

machines) with a mixed age 

profile, within three months. 

Finding the absolute centre 

of the spreader is important and 

Orlaco found that there were 

many variations in spreaders 

over different generation machines, 

said Pelders. 

Rear view camera 

The system on the STS cranes 

is designed to give the driver a 

better view of the operation as 

the crane travels backwards from 

the vessel. Most STS crane cabs 

are positioned behind the trolley, 

so the driver faces out over 

the vessel. When the trolley is 

travelling backwards the driver 

can see the headblock, but not 

any obstacles such as pedestrians 

or straddle carriers that 

might be in the load path. 

Each STS crane has been fitted 

with five compact colour cam- 

eras that give the operator an overview 

of the work zone between 

the crane legs and the backreach. 

The cameras are connected to a 

monitor in the cabin by a fibre 

optic cable that runs through the 

festoon system. The operator can 

switch between different images 

on demand or let the views cycle 

automatically. 

Think it through 

Adding monitors to a crane cab 

has to be done carefully. Drivers 

generally do not want to obstruct 

the forward and downwards views, 

but the monitor needs to be big 

enough and close enough to be 

clearly visible. Orlaco and MSC 

Home Terminal tried different 

combinations before they settled 

on a 12-in monitor that is 

mounted some 50-60 cms above 

the safety bar in the cab floor. 

Michel Van Ginneken, crane 

department manager at MSC 

Home Terminal, said the crane 

drivers did not embrace the system 

initially and there were different 

opinions on the best place 

to put the monitor. He is confident, 

however, that the camera 

system has helped improve safety 

and is a vast improvement over the 

rearview mirror it replaced. 

Van Ginneken said MSC 

Home Terminal has put a considerable 

effort into improving safety, 

but cautions against relying too 

much on hardware alone to eliminate 

risk. A camera system such as 

this, he added, is a “safety assist” 

feature, which means it does not 

of itself prevent an accident in the 

same way as an anti-collision sensor 

connected to the crane control, 

but rather assists the driver to 

make the operation safer. 

To get maximum benefit from 

a safety assist system, Van Ginneken 

believes, technology must be 

matched by good operational 

practice that keeps the operation 

simple and the risks predictable. 

Exception noting 

MSC Home Terminal has focused 

on reducing the number of people 

and activity under the crane 

portal and controlling the traffic 

flow so straddle carriers enter from 

one side of the STS crane only. 

Limiting the activity means that 

when the STS crane driver sees 

something, he takes it seriously. 

Orlaco sees a growing interest 

in using cameras to improve safety 

and has installed a similar system 

on the STS cranes at DP World’s 

Antwerp Gateway terminal in the 

Deurganckdok. ❏ 

Orlaco STS crane cab monitor. At MSC Home Terminal it was found that the 

best size is 12ins and the best location is 50-60 cms above the floor safety bar 

74 

May 2013

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Step up to the next tier 

Last year, Hyster’s Nijmegen 

big trucks plant recorded its 

highest output since being 

established in 1953, with 1927 

mast trucks and reach stackers of 

Cooper SH has supplied Poole 

Harbour Commissioners in England 

with two 10t Konecranes 

FLTs that have the same wheelbase 

as a traditional 8-tonner, thus 

increasing lift capacity, but not at 

the expense of turning radii. The 

machines have a 2800mm wheelbase 

- 200mm shorter than a conventional 

10 tonner. Stability is not 

compromised as additional ballast 

is used to compensate for length. 

While a previous shortwheelbased 

version utilised the 

standard chassis for smaller machines, 

the new version, says 

Cooper SH, has a unique chassis 

length and also sits comfortably 

within the 8t-10t range. Chris 

Barnes, general manager, South for 

Cooper SH said: “The 8-tonne 

mark is generally a watershed 

where many suppliers complete 

their range, while others, such as 

SMV [Konecranes], start their 

range at 10 tonnes. Until now, it 

was believed that the two-tonne 

jump in capacity was also a determining 

factor in physical size. 

“Whilst this remains true in respect 

of height and wheel size, we 

can reduce the length yet retain capacity 

to 10 tonnes at 600mm load 

centre or even, if required, 12 

tonnes at 600mm centre.” 

Konecranes last year supplied 

The two short wheelbase Konecranes 10-tonners at the Port of Poole 

The greening of oil filters 

US-based Filtration Technology 

Group (FTG) is supplying container 

terminals in Los Angeles and 

Long Beach with reusable oil filters 

for diesel engines fitted to 

container handling equipment. 

FTG’s “full-flow” filters are designed 

to last as long as or longer 

than a diesel engine, using a cleanable 

stainless steel wire cloth filter 

system that was initially developed, 

tested and manufactured by Parker 

Hannifin’s Racor Division. The 

technology is now independently 

manufactured by FTG. 

FTG originally found a market 

for replaceable filters in marine 

applications, where reusable 

filters eliminate all the logistics of 

getting new filters to vessels and 

then removing and correctly disposing 

of used filters. It is now 

targeting port applications and has 

had some success in LA/LB where 

a local service dealer, HD Industries 

(a division of Harbor Diesel 

between 6t and 54t manufactured 

- beating the previous record set 

in 2008 prior to the global economic 

financial crisis. Such is 

Hyster’s confidence, it is taking on 

Bespoke from Cooper SH 

18 short-wheelbase machines to 

Sapa Aluminium in Sweden rated 

at 10t-1200mm LC, but compromises 

need to be made. Typically, 

continues Barnes, SMV machines 

of this size have a Volvo 6-cylinder, 

7 litre engine developing 185 

kW with a corresponding transmission. 

This is too long for a short 

wheelbase configuration, so it is 

replaced with a Volvo 561-VE, a 5 

litre, 4-cylinder engine delivering 

155 kW. Stage IIIb compliance is 

through a Volvo SCR system. 

Paul Gillingham, engineering 

manager of the Port of Poole, 

commented: “The short wheelbase 

machines have provided us 

with a new storage dimension that 

was not there previously. Other 

than the size, the machines share 

all the other characteristics of the 

rest of our fleet.” The two latest 

machines are part of a three-truck 

supply that brings the Konecranes 

FLT fleet at Poole to five, including 

33t and 16t machines. ❏ 

● The Linde-HTD plant in Wales 

will close in October. Konecranes 

in Sweden will take over production 

of container handlers for 

Kion Group, while other products 

(sideloaders, clamp trucks, etc) will 

be built under contract in the 

Czech Republic. Kion Group is 

planning an IPO. ❏ 

and Equipment, Inc) has begun 

fitting the filters in container handling 

equipment. 

FTG was able to manufacture 

reusable filters that matched all the 

specifications and passed all tests 

for use in mobile equipment, said 

Pat Vuoso, VP, parts and logistics at 

HD Industries. The filters are in 

use on equipment (including 

RTG gensets) at the ITS and Evergreen 

terminals. “My port contacts 

are quite happy with the result,” 

said Vuoso. “As word has 

gotten out that there’s a cost-effective 

alternative to disposable air 

filters, other port terminals are asking 

about cleanable, reusable filters, 

and the technology is spreading 

to other terminals.” 

Reusable filters do not affect 

oil replacement intervals and can 

be used for any liquid filtration 

application. The filters are cleaned 

with a brush and solvent, or with 

an ultrasonic cleaning system. ❏ 

FTG reusable oil filter shown here in a marine engine application 

50 production line workers, who 

will undertake a 2-week pre-training 

course, off the main assembly 

areas and using technical Lego to 

illustrate the work process. 

New mid-range 

The company has introduced a 

new 8-16t range, which serves as 

something of a launch pad for 

various technologies, while also 

incorporating several applications 

already found in its larger trucks. 

Hyster has focused on overall cost 

of ownership, with particular regard 

to fuel consumption. The company 

claim savings of up to 17% can be 

achieved on the 8t-12t machines, 

mainly due to “rightsizing” the 

engine and the ECO-eLo control 

systems, already available on 

all Stage IIIb configurations. 

Fuel savings of 10% have been 

recorded with the H13-16XM-6 

and H10-12XM-12EC series. The 

H8-12XM-6 and H13-16XM-6 

diesel FLTs all feature load sensing 

hydraulics, which combined 

with the Cummins diesel engines, 

can achieve a 20% higher laden 

lifting speed. Even higher lifting 

speeds can be achieved with lower 

rpm. The main advantage is an 

additional 5% fuel saving. 

Further fuel saving options 

include a travel speed limiter covering 

top speed and variable set 

speed, and an empty seat shutdown 

feature with variable time 

delay. These are incorporated in 

the ECO-eLo package. 

A new light heavy 

A new 16t range will be launched 

in the autumn. While Hyster in 

Nijmegen is reluctant to discuss 

this design until then, the US variant 

was shown in early May at the 

AISTech 2013 Exposition in Pittsburgh 

(Pa). The machine displayed 

was a H360-36/48HD. This has a 

36,000lb (16.33t) lift capacity at 

36in (914mm) load centre. In the 

H360-48HD variant, the rating is 

at a 48in load centre. 

The machines feature load 

sensing hydraulics, which has allowed 

the Tier 4i Cummins 

QSB6.7 litre 6-cylinder engine to 

be downrated to 164hp (122kW), 

although advertised output for this 

engine is 300hp (220kW). 

The 13t-16t machines have 

the 6.7 litre engine and the European 

version of the new truck will 

also use it. This “rightsizing” fits 

Hyster’s philosophy of reducing 

fuel consumption and with it CO 2 

emissions, which are not part of 

the EPA/EU off-highway emission 

regulations. 

Getting a boost 

Part of Hyster’s remarkable output 

last year could be due to the 

phasing in of Stage IIIB/Tier 4i 

regulations for smaller machines. 

The regulations were applied to 

off-road engines in the 130kW- 

560kW range in January 2011, but 

for engines in the 56kW-129kW 

range the regulations did not 

come into force until January 

2012. Even so, emissions requirements 

are less severe for this power 

spring driven 

cable reeling drums 

motor driven 

cable reeling drums 

slipring bodies 


news 

The H360-36/48HD series has already been shown in the USA 

category at Stage IIIb/T4i levels 

than for larger engines, enabling 

more simplified aftertreatment. 

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May 2013 77


news 


Mast trucks headed for the US 

compliant engines to the US, or vice versa, 

unless dual certification is obtained. 

Hyster says it is the only lift truck builder 

that has certified all its products under 

both EU and EPA regimes, so trucks can 

be freely shipped both ways. 

The division into emission zones raises 

other interesting points. Cummins, for instance, 

states that Stage IIIb/T4i engines 

operated outside their intended emission 

region “will not carry a warranty.” This 

reticence is based on the availability of 

ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel (ULSD). 

Stage IIIb/Tier 4i engines must operate 

on fuel with a sulphur content no greater 

than 15ppm and preferably ≤ 10ppm. This 

is readily available in Europe and the US, 

but can be scarce in some other regions. 

Two Stage IIIb Hyster H52.00XM 

LCH container handlers were recently 

The Nijmegen workforce is being increased to 

help meet strong demand 

supplied to Port Nelson in New Zealand 

as replacements for earlier Hyster models 

supplied in 1995 and 1998. This country 

has not yet adopted Stage IIIb/Tier 4i or 

equivalent. However, it has wide sources 

of ULSD and accordingly the Cummins 

warranty holds. 

RAM Singapore +65 6867 3380 

RAM UK +44 1695 556355 RAM Latin America +593 52 626 836 

RAM China +86 512 5229 7222 RAM North America +01 410 739 5487 

www.ramspreaders.com 

Final stage 

The next and final emission regulations, 

due in January 2014, do not represent such 

a major engineering challenge as did the 

switch from Stage IIIa/T3, in Hyster’s 

view, as much of the work has already 

been done, particularly the incorporation 

of greater cooling capacity. 

Hyster has been working in conjunction 

with Cummins for two years on the 

Stage IV/Tier 4 final project, with two 

machines currently on field tests. Instead 

of Cummins developing a solution that 

is then tested in a truck, both engine and 

machine tests are being carried out in parallel 

under all load conditions. 

Hyster is not yet in a position to release 

details of what the final configuration 

will be, but it is interesting to note 

that at this year’s Bauma, Cummins unveiled 

a Stage IV/T4f solution incorporating 

an ultra-clean aftertreatment system, 

combining the Cummins Compact 

Catalyst with Selective Catalytic Reduction 

(CCC-SCR). This will be employed 

in the QSL9, QSB6.7, QSB4.5 and 

QSB3.3 engines to offer a common 

aftertreatment solution from 75hp to 

400hp. Operators can also expect a 2-3% 

fuel efficiency gain from T4i to T4f. 

The SCR system developed by 

Cummins for Stage IV/T4f is described 

as a “next-generation design that moves 

beyond SCR technology currently in use 

for T4i.” The system incorporates a copper 

zeolite-based catalyst capable of up 

to 95% absorption. Through passively 

oxidising PM from the exhaust stream, 

the CCC is a maintenance-free “fit and 

forget” device. It involves dosing the engine, 

albeit in smaller quantities than for 

T4i/Stage IIIb SCR, with Adblue/DEF 

- something that Hyster has avoided up 

to now by staying with Cummins cooled 

EGR and a diesel particulate filter. 

The real touches 

While a lift truck manufacturer is an assembler 

of other suppliers for its key components 

- engines, gearboxes, axles, attachments, 

hydraulics - the strength of the 

brand is how these can be put together 

to gain the greatest advantage, while at 

the same time developing specific subsystems 

to lower the cost of ownership. 

One feature Hyster is set to introduce 

across it full range fitted with CanBus 

systems is a performance data tracking 

system. This comprises three modular levels, 

with the basic level being a passive 

reporting system covering hour meter, 

cost of operation, periodic maintenance, 

fault code tracking, impact sensing and 

operator training. The Hyster Tracker 

monitors the materials handling fleet, 

controls operator access and helps to 

verify that the operator completes his preshift 

checklist before starting. 

Accessing the cab 

The second level, wireless access, includes 

operator access restrictions and driver 

identification using a swipe card, which 

could also be used for checking onto the 

shift. This feature is also useful for rental 

trucks, where the swipe card can be preloaded 

with the rental period. When this 

is exceeded, the truck is immobilised. If 

an impact occurs, emails are sent out automatically, 

making it easier to review 

incidents and related product damage. 

The wireless access offering enables 

remote monitoring, and idle shutdown. 

To prevent operators leaving running 

equipment unattended, an idle shutdown 

feature powers off the truck following a 

pre-set amount of time if the equipment 

is tracked as idling or unattended. This 

also helps to reduce excess fuel costs. 

The Hyster Tracker Wireless Access 

Managment System will be available later 

in the year in EMEA based on either WiFi 

or GPRS communications over local mobile 

phone coverage, and will be accessed 

through the HysterTracker.com portal. ❏ 

78 

May 2013


Could ports get cross about tyres again 

In recent years tyres used in heavy mobile 

plant applications in ports have increasingly 

moved away from bias ply (or 

cross ply) to radial construction, even 

though radials covers are more expensive. 

Although several factors are involved 

in the switch, from an operator’s perspective 

the main one is that radial tyres have 

lower rolling resistance and run cooler so 

they save on fuel costs and are less prone 

to overheating and hence last longer. This 

translates into lower costs per running 

hour, - the main criterion. 

Despite sidewall reinforcements, 

radials still lag behind bias tyres in puncture 

resistance, but provided the terminal 

surface is reasonably clean, this should not 

be too much of a drawback. On the other 

hand, notwithstanding various improvements 

over the years, radial tyres still inherently 

flexes more than the equivalent 

bias tyre and this can cause stability problems 

at high stacking heights. 

To overcome this problem, equipment 

operators often inflate the front (or forward 

travel) tyres above the 10 bar norm. 

This increases tyre “stiffness,” but it also 

reduces the tyre contact area, which in 

turn causes accelerated wear, thus negating 

the reason for fitting radial covers in 

the first place. 

New departure 

After several years of R & D in Germany 

and extensive factory testing and operator 

trials, Continental Tyres Group has 

chosen TOC CSC Europe in Rotterdam 

in June to launch a brand new range of 

port tyres. TOC CSC attendees will be 

invited to witness the new tyres in use 

on heavy equipment with a Rotterdam 

terminal operator. 

No details of the tyres have been released 

prior to launch, but it is known 

that the key innovation is that these are 

bias tyres, therefore with inherent excellent 

stability characteristics, but a completely 

new tread pattern delivers cooler 

running and hence a tyre life that is 

claimed to get closer to that of a radial 

tyre. If you then factor in the lower price 

for bias construction, the claimed result 

is an even lower cost per running hour 

than is possible with the best radial covers. 

Braking distance is also said to be 

shorter in a like-for-like comparison. 

Continental has tested the new tyres 

in different countries on various machines 

and in widely varying climatic conditions, 

and is confident that it is “onto a winner.” 

As part of the launch, all the new 

port tyres will be branded to Continental 

and the Simex brand will no longer 

be used for port tyres. 

Enhancements 

Continental has also announced a number 

of product enhancements to various smaller 

industrial tyres. For example, the tread 

depth of the RT20 radial tyre for FLTs has 

been increased to the point where 30% 

greater service life can be achieved, the 

company claims. Laden travel speeds of up 

to 25 mph are possible, and a high-traction 

tread pattern enables the FLTs to carry 

heavy loads on unsurfaced ground as well 

as paved ground. 

The CSEasy resilient tyre is fitted with 

an adapter between the tyre and the rim. 

This allows the tyre to be fitted directly 

onto any Lemmerz-contoured rim simply 

by using a torque wrench. There is no 

need for a mounting press, so the time 

A major product launch at TOC CSC 

Europe could change the thinking about 

tyres on mobile container handling plant 

taken to change a tyre is drastically reduced. 

This means, for example, that FLT 

retailers and hire companies can easily 

change between standard and non-marking 

tyres depending on the customer’s 

requirements. 

Continental was the first company to 

develop a resilient tyre capable of being 

mounted on a pneumatic tyre rim and 

says that its range of superelastic tyres now 

account for 40% of the world’s industrial 

tyre market. To date over 8M superelastic 

tyres have been produced. 

Retreads 

The company has also introduced 

LifeCycle, a retreaded superelastic tyre. 

The worn tread is removed from the cas- 

Radial tyres, such as these Nokian BAS tyres, 

dominate the straddle carrier market. Could 

Continental change all that 

Tackling the toughest tasks 


news 

Katoen Natie in the Port of Antwerp is a recent 

customer for Continental SC20 CSEasy 

superelastic tyres. The tyres are fitted all-round 

to its fleet of indoor- and outdoor-working 

warehouse FLTs 

VCHR delivers exceptionally long tire life and superior driving comfort leading to cost effectiveness and 

operational safety. With their outstanding performance in the toughest conditions, VCHR tires can successfully 

tackle diverse tasks throughout your site to keep your operations in reliably on target. 

Tire size Load index/speed symbol TRA code 

16.00R25 200A5 Industrial Service 

VCHR 

V-steel Container Handler Rib 

For your nearest Bridgestone Authorized Dealer, 

visit our web site 

www.bridgestone.com 

May 2013 79


news 

The new Magna Tyres M-Straddle 

16.00R-25 tyre 

ing and completely replaced, using 

a rubber compound identical 

to that used in Continental’s premium 

new tyres. With this 

method, around 65% of the existing 

tyres can be reused and only 

35% has to be new materials, 

which sends out a strong environmental 

message. LifeCycle sits 

alongside the premium 

superelastic tyres SC20, SH12 and 

CSEasy and is aimed at single shift, 

lighter use applications. 

A recent customer for SC20 

CSEasy tyres is Belgian port and 

80 

logistic operator Katoen Natie, 

which has fitted the tyre to its entire 

fleet of indoor and outdoor 

use warehouse FLTs and reach 

trucks in Antwerp and has reported 

good results with them. 

HARBOUR 

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New OEM deal 

In April, Sweden-based Trelleborg 

Wheel Systems (TWS) and 

NACCO Materials Handling 

group (Hyster, Yale, Utilev) announced 

a new partnership for the 

supply and fitting of replacement 

tyres for the whole EMEA region. 

Under this aftermarket deal, TWS 

has become NACCO’s preferred 

and approved supplier to end users 

and dealers and will work with 

dealers across the region. 

In some countries, said Elio 

Bartoli, TWS’s director, Europe, 

replacement services will be carried 

out by Interfit, TWS’s service 

brand. “We built Interfit to offer 

lift truck OEMs and their dealers 

a service designed around their 

needs and to deliver value,” said 

Bartoli. TWS and NACCO will 

work together to provide technical 

and commercial support to the 

dealer network. TWS is a major 

supplier to NACCO at OEM 

level globally and already operates 

an aftermarket tyre programme for 

NACCO in the US. 

TWS is one of five business 

areas in the Trelleborg Group, the 

others being Trelleborg Coated 

Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, 

Trelleborg Offshore & 

Construction and Trelleborg Sealing 

Solutions. This structure was 

set up in January this year. 

Acquisition trail 

Earlier this year (February), TWS 

announced that it had acquired 

the industrial tyre business of 

Dutch company Industriebanden 

Beheer BV, for an undisclosed 

sum. “The acquisition gives us the 

opportunity to expand our successful 

industrial tyre service concept, 

while also allowing us to 

grow in the areas of service and 

distribution in Europe,” said 

Maurizio Vischi, TWS business 

area president. 

“Industriebanden commands a 

strong position in the market and 

has a favourable profitability 

record.” Industriebanden logged 

sales of around €6M in 2012, 

mainly in the Dutch market. 

Consolidation is the name of 

the game in the industrial tyre 

market. TWS finalised the purchase 

of UK-based Watts Industrial 

Tyres for around SEK300M 

(£21.6M) in February 2011, just 

a few months after Canada’s 

Camoplast acquired Solideal and 

all its R & D and manufacturing 

facilities in Asia, Europe and 

North America, including the 

Solideal share in the Loadstar joint 

venture with the Jinasena group 

in Sri Lanka. Last year the renamed 

Camoplast Solideal group acquired 

a regional US aftermarket 

specialist and dealer, Forklift Tires 

of Florida, based in Jaxport. 

QM award 

Another Netherlands-based company, 

Magna Tyres, was awarded 

ISO 90001:2008 for its quality 

management system, following a 

successful audit of its headquarters 

in Waalwijk by TÜV 

Nederland (TÜV Nord) completed 

in March. Magna sees the 

certification as key to its expansion 

in international markets as a 

company committed to the highest 

quality standards. 

New tyres 

An independent company with 

more than 30 years experience of 

OTR, industrial and truck tyre 

manufacturing, Magna started radial 

OTR production in 2006 and 

has gradually been extending its 

range. Last November it launched 

the M-Straddle, a 16.00R-25 tyre 

with heavy duty sidewalls and a 

deep, double rib tread pattern, of 

the type that is now widely 

adopted by straddle carrier operators. 

Terex Port Solutions (formerly 

Noell Mobile Systems) 

confirmed that it would be carrying 

out OEM trials. 

This followed the launch of 

the Magna MB01 CM Container 

Master, an 18.00-25 bias tyre in 

40 PR rating for reach stacker and 

heavy mast truck applications. This 

has an E4 tread pattern and an 

extra wide shoulder design. This 

has been tested by another TPS 

arm (Terex PPM) on a reach 

stacker at the River Rhône port 

of Lyon. (Magna has had an OEM 

agreement with Terex in 

Zweibrücken for truck-mounted 

mobile cranes since 2010). The 

tyre has also been fitted to Kalmar 

reach stackers at Barge Terminal 

Tilburg, in the Port of Rotterdam 

and in Nuuk in Greenland. 

As part of its OTR tyre international 

expansion drive, in February 

Magna appointed Construction 

and Mining Solutions Ltd in 

Rangiora (Canterbury) as its exclusive 

dealer for New Zealand. 

In March it announced a strategic 

agreement covering its OTR tyres 

with leading German tyre wholesaler 

Interpneu. This puts Magna 

in touch with German equipment 

operators through Interpneu’s nationwide 

service network, 

Pneuhage Riefendienste. 

X marks the spot 

Michelin launched its X-Sraddle 

dedicated straddle carrier tyre in 

2003-4 and came up with a (then) 

novel size for this application, 480/ 

95R 25, between a 16.00R-25 

and 18.00R-25 cover, aimed at the 

(then) emerging market for 50t 

SWL machines with twin 20 

spreaders. Originally it was thought 

that the trend towards 4-high stacking 

and heavier SWLs would call 

for a full 18.00R-25 size, but this 

proved not to be the case. 

The X-Straddle has a double 

rib pattern and is also available in 

16.00R-25 size. Original tread 

depth is 61/32nds (49mm) with 

the 16.00R-25 and 63/32nds 

(50mm) with the 480/95R 25. 

Michelin has launched a new 

generation of X-Straddle tyre, 

called X-Straddle 2. This is designed 

with more protective 

sidewalls, a new bead and a new 

tread for added stability, safety and 


18.00R-25 wheel assembly for VDL AGV. Gottwald is fitting 21.00R-25 

wheels to its Battery Lift AGVs. It looks as though Kalmar will be fitting this 

bigger size to its new AGV, although the drive is not thought to be all-electric 

longer life. Faster laden travel 

speeds are possible, so typical distances 

per hour of operation are 

extended and this translates into 

higher productivity. Michelin did 

not respond to WorldCargo News’ 

request for more information. 

Turning the wheels 

UK-based GKN Wheels, part of 

GKN plc, chose BAUMA in Munich 

in April to launch a new, customised 

15.00-23/3.0 multi-piece 

wheel for container transporter 

AGVs in ports. “Heavy construction 

and container equipment 

wheels are subject to high stresses 

during their service life,” said 

Gianpietro Bramé, R & D director, 

GKN Wheels Europe. “We have 

developed a tough, hard-working 

wheel for AGVs to suit the specific 

load and operating conditions.” 

It is understood that GKN has 

been working on this project with 

Kalmar, which is developing prototype 

AGVs for testing by PSA 

Singapore. The wheel was developed 

and manufactured by GKN 

in Denmark. The development 

team originally produced a rim/ 

wheel that was then vehiclemounted 

and field-tested using 

fatigue analysis and strain gauge 

measuring equipment. 

The prototype loads and 

simulations were recorded using 

special computer software and 

modelling. This meant, continued 

Bramé, that GKN could predict 

the real lifetime impact of the 

wheel with precision, and design 

a product to meet that specification 

accordingly. 

Using new paint plant technology, 

the wheel has been finished 

to what is claimed to be the 

highest finish available, known as 

C5 High, which offers long-term 

corrosion resistance even in saline 

atmospheres such as seaports. 

GKN has also introduced 

“Swift ID” as a wheel service tool. 

Data are transmitted from RF tags 

attached to the wheel to handheld 

readers used by the service/maintenance 

team. The data from the 

handheld devices can be transferred 

to a central database and 

accessed anywhere on-line. The 

system is currently being tested on 

mining equipment in Australia. 

Sizing up 

Container transporter AGVs are 

generally fitted with 18.00-25 size 

tyres mounted on multi-piece 

rims. Nearly all Gottwald AGVs 

in service are fitted with 18.00R- 

25 tyres, for example, and this is 

also the case with the new hybrid 

AGVs launched recently by VDL. 

However, in a departure, 

Gottwald’s Lift-AGVs are fitted 

with 21.00R-25 tyres. Due to the 

lift platforms and the additional 

deadweight of the battery array, 

the vehicle is heavier and requires 

larger road contact. The bigger 

tyres help spread the load more 

evenly. The suspension system has 

also been reinforced. Judging by 

the dimensions of the new GKN 

rim, Kalmar is also fitting its new 

AGV with 21.00-25 tyres. ❏ 

May 2013


Weighing up all the box weighing options 

TOC CSC Europe in Rotterdam 

in June includes “round 

table” workshops on container 

weighing and a closely allied 

safety issue, safe packing. 

TT Club’s global risk director 

Laurence Jones chairs the first, 

with support from Capt Richard 

Brough OBE, ICHCA’s technical 

advisor. This is tagged “who 

bears responsibility for weight accuracy,” 

to which the simple legal 

answer is the shipper or (last) 

container stuffer. The second is 

chaired by TT Club’s risk management 

director Peregrine 

Storrs-Fox, with support from Bill 

Brassington of ETS Consulting. Its 

focus is the new Code of Practice 

for [safe packing] of cargo transport 

units (CTU). 

Compression, tension 

Thinking about weighing in terms 

of compressive or tensile forces is 

a good way of assessing where in 

the supply chain container weights 

should be verified, in the run-up 

to DSC/18 this September. 

Compression weighing means 

weighbridges, portable weighing 

mats or load cells on the chassis 

or trailer. Ideally, containers should 

be weighed at or near the shipper’s 

or consolidator’s premises. 

This means both that the weight 

is verified for shipping purposes 

and the legality of the load for road 

transport in terms of gross mass 

and axle loads can be determined. 

This is a key safety issue. Incorrectly 

loaded containers can give 

rise to dangerously ex-centric loads 

and wide variations in axle loads 

and tyre pressure that can turn road 

trucks into lethal weapons. Heavy 

axle passes are the main cause of 

accelerated road fatigue. 

Weighbridges are extremely 

accurate, but have limitations 

when it comes to two 20ft shipments, 

while portable mats have a 

limited life and can easily get lost 

or damaged. All the same, compression 

weighing is clearly the 

ideal total supply chain solution. 

There is a commercial opportunity 

here for container road 

haulage companies to provide a 

weighing service to the shipping 

line, shipper or forwarder, whichever 

is his contracting party for the 

road haul to the port, by fitting 

load cells to the chassis. 3PL providers 

are now fitting axle weight 

readers to their road trailers. 

Calculation 

One total supply chain solution 

within IMO’s competence is 

weighing-by-calculation (as proposed 

by Germany at DSC/17). 

This will likely be acceptable to 

shipping lines and national maritime 

administrations for homogenous 

or metered cargoes shipped 

in regular trades. The calculation 

methodology will need to be accredited 

to the relevant international 

standard and/or QA audit. 

Nobody knows what percentage 

of the world’s container traffic 

will be covered by weighingby-calculation: 

10% 50% However, 

individual shipping lines will 

have a fair idea for their own trades 

based on their customer profiles. 

Tension weighing means 

hoisting equipment with a suspended 

container load using calibrated 

and certified equipment - 

and this generally means ports 

(seaports, inland ports, container 

barge or rail terminals) where the 

vast majority of the world’s container 

lifting equipment is located 

and where the container is transferred 

from the road truck. 

This is the port solution. It is 

not as comprehensive as the total 

supply chain solution, but it will 

probably be the most common 

way of verifying container 

weights. When trucks are used for 

local C & D, there is an opportunity 

for the inland intermodal railhead 

or inland barge terminal operator 

to fit weighing equipment 

to their lifting gear. This is, in effect, 

a “tensile force supply chain 

solution,” as it occurs early in the 

move to the seaport. 

Not obligatory 

Clause 14 of the draft Revised 

Annex 2 of SOLAS VI/2 states 

that “all port terminal facilities 

handling containers should have 

a means of verifying the gross mass 

of packed containers.” 

However, port operators will 

not be obliged to provide this 

service. Responsibility for ensuring 

that the “verified gross mass is 

stated in the shipping document” 

remains with the shipper. All the 

same, many port operators will see 

a commercial opportunity to enter 

into a container weight verification 

(CWV) contract with the 

shipping lines. 

Annex I of the draft Amendment 

to SOLAS VI/2 states: “If the 

shipping document with regard to 

a packed container does not provide 

the verified gross mass and the 

master or his representative and the 

terminal representative have not 

obtained the verified gross mass of 

the packed container, it shall not 

be loaded on to the ship.” 

PEMA guidelines 

The Port Equipment Manufacturers’ 

Association (PEMA) has been 

working on guidelines on CWV 

equipment (CWVE) for lo-lo port 

operators. Based on a presentation 

by Beat Zwygart to the ICHCA 

pre-DSC/18 workshop in London 

in April, these are believed to 

include the following information. 

It should be stressed that this is a 

draft and may be subject to change. 

● STS gantry cranes - load cells 

located in the boom tip accurate 

to ± 5% of full scale (FS); subject 

to dynamic loads (4-5 secs to “fix” 

weight; twin 20 problem. 

● RTGs/RMGs - load cells on the 

trolley accurate to ± 3-5% of FS; 

subject to dynamic loads (2 secs 

to fix weight); twin 20 problem 

● MHCs - load cells or hydraulic 

pressure measuring, mounted into 

the boom head sheave pins or into 

the rope anchors, accurate to ± 

3-5% of FS; twin 20 problem 

● Straddle carriers - load cells in 

the rope anchors or hoist motor 

current measuring, accurate to ± 

5% of FS; twin 20 problem 

● Reach stackers - load cells in rotator 

mounting pins or boom lift 

cylinder hydraulic pressure measure, 

accurate to ± 5% of FS; twin 

20 problem (but RSCs not often 

fitted with twin 20 spreaders) 

● FLTs - load cells in the chain 

anchors or lift cylinder hydraulic 

pressure measure, accurate to ± 

5% of FS; twin 20 problem (but 

FLTs practically never fitted with 

twin 20 spreaders) 

● Spreader twistlocks - load cells 

under the nut or sensors inside the 

twistlock, accurate to ± 0.5-1% of 

FS; no twin 20 problem as sensors 

are fitted to all twistlocks. 

Independently of PEMA, another 

load measurement specialist, 

Strainstall, says that it is in the 

process of writing a paper that it 

hopes “will clarify load measurement 

methods within ports and 

terminals and displace any myths 

surrounding the debate.” 

In any event, unofficially 

PEMA estimates that the world 

population of container spreaders 

is around 35,000, of which those 

“eligible” for fitting with CWVE 

is around 12,000. In most cases, 

leaving CWV to the quay crane 

would be too late, so generally 

CWVE would be fitted to the 

yard equipment - usually RTGs 

or straddle carriers, but sometimes 

Work on safe packing and container 

weighing are inter-related. (Photo: 

Richard Brough, ICHCA workshop) 

reach stackers. This is what is 

meant by “eligibility.” 

Retrofitting spreaders on such 

a scale is unlikely. Many port operators 

may opt out of weighing, 

and simply not accept bookings 

of containers whose weight has 

not been verified somewhere else. 

However, port operators willing 

to supply a CWV service to their 

shipping line customers have 

started to specify CWVE spreaders 

on new yard handling equip- 

ment in increasing numbers. 

CWVE is already being used to 

collect data on longitudinal or lateral 

load ex-centricity. This can be 

fed back via carriers to shippers 

and encourage them to load containers 

more evenly, which would 

also greatly enhance road safety. 

Richard Marks, the chairman 

of ICHCA’s Expert Panel, is one 

who believes that shippers “will 

soon get the message” if their containers 

“miss the ship” because of 

a weight discrepancy and there 

was no time to adjust the stowage 

plan. The ICHCA pre-DSC/18 

workshop in London in April 

moved the discussion a deal forward. 

The industry knows where 

the legal responsibility lies and 

what choices there are for weighing, 

in terms of how and where. 

True cost of service 

What port operators need is an 

honest debate about the true cost 

of providing a CWV service. 

Equipment vendors focus on the 

cost per lift, which is a small 

amount per se, but this is only part 

of the story. If a major discrepancy 


news 

Misdeclared container weights, or cargo shifting inside containers due to incorrect 

packing, or both (Source: ibid) 

is discovered, the container has to 

be rehandled and transported to a 

“pending stack,” which means 

extra handling costs and loss of 

regular space in the terminal. The 

line has to tell the shipper, who 

may “demand a recount.” Dwell 

times will be long, so yet more 

space may be needed; and what 

about “problem” reefers 

Anyone in the supply chain 

providing a CWV service must 

meet whatever accuracy limits are 

set down by the jurisdiction where 

the container is weighed. This is 

not just about ± percentages, but 

about periodic testing and maybe 

recalibration. That is a cost. 

And what happens if, on investigation 

after a container misses 

a sailing, it turns out that the declared 

weight was right after all 

and the CWVE was faulty; or a 

container is “passed” by the 

CWVE for loading on board, but 

is actually dangerously overweight 

and a stow collapses Such potential 

litigation questions have to be 

covered by insurance policies. 

Within jurisdictional tolerances, 

should allowance be made 

for cargo type and moisture 

changes according to temperature 

or humidity And does the ship’s 

master vary the tolerances according 

to whether it is a big or small 

one Clearly, there are many practical 

questions to resolve. ❏ 

May 2013 81


news 

Of losses and leviathans 

Last year, worldwide merchant 

ship losses were down by 27% on 

the 10-year average, according to 

a report from Germanyheadquartered 

insurance industry 

giant Allianz. In the 12 months to 

November 2012, 91 ships were 

lost, compared to 106 in the same 

period a year earlier, while the 10- 

year average was 146 ship losses 

per annum. 

In its annual review of maritime 

losses, Allianz Global Corporate 

& Specialty attributed 

the long-term downward trend 

in ship losses to improvements 

in technology, training and 

regulation, and a proactive response 

from the shipping industry 

to safety improvement. 

The report warned, however, 

that human error remains the 

greatest risk, being the root cause 

of most incidents. The insurer lists 

fatigue, economic pressures and 

inadequate training as the main 

causes for concern. Other insurance 

sources indicate that 

containership casualties are still 

considered to be too high, despite 

the fact that 300-plus such vessels 

are currently inactive. 

Raised eyebrows 

Marine underwriters raised an 

eyebrow at the recent news that 

China Shipping Container Lines 

(CSCL) had taken advantage of 

what were termed “very attractive” 

prices and followed Maersk 

into the jumbo-sized boxship 

market by ordering five 18,400 

TEU vessels in South Korea. 

It was not only insurers who 

did a double-take at this move by 

CSCL. Quick off the mark was 

no less than the China Shipowners’ 

Association, whose executive 

vice president, Zhang Shouguo, 

criticised owners who placed 

Ship losses are down, but there are 

fears over the accumulation of risk 

with growing numbers of larger ships 

After its engine room flooded the 2006-built EMMA MAERSK was towed to the 

Fincantieri yard in Palermo, where it is undergoing lengthy repairs 

speculative orders, enticed by shipyards’ 

rock-bottom prices. 

Such deals, Zhang said, would 

prolong overcapacity. “Even if 

there are no more new orders in 

the next several years, the oversupply 

will still be there,” he added. 

While stopping short of criticising 

CSCL directly, the timing of 

the association’s intervention sent 

an inherent message. 

According to Alphaliner, although 

the scrapping of 

containerships is likely to reach a 

record level this year, newbuilding 

deliveries will still outstrip the 

capacity removed due to demolition 

by a ratio of one to three. 

It is not the size of vessel that 

worries insurers but the accumulation 

of risk, particularly when these 

leviathans are moving in and out of 

ports in emerging markets, and even 

the adequacy of the infrastructure and 

stability of labour relations in the 

world’s major container hubs such as 

Rotterdam or Hong Kong (which 

has just suffered a five-week dock 

workers’ strike). 

Pushing the envelope 

Further, industry observers are 

asking whether naval architects 

and operators are pushing the envelope 

too fast. They point, for instance, 

to the recent withdrawal 

of the mega boxship EMMA 

MAERSK after its engine room became 

flooded due to a technical 

failure in the propulsion system. 

The 2006-built, 15,500 TEU capacity 

vessel has been towed to the 

Fincantieri repair yard in Palermo, 

Sicily, where it is undergoing 

lengthy repairs. 

Safety onboard and in port is a 

vital issue for the container industry. 

As ship sizes increase, so do the 

problems and the cost of claims. A 

seminar arranged by the London 

Shipping Law Centre’s Maritime 

Business Forum heard how boxship 

accidents in recent years have 

proved extremely difficult to manage 

and have been followed by 

huge claims on underwriters. The 

warning was clear: these developments 

are placing increasing emphasis 

on ship safety for owners and 

managers – encompassing the development 

of systems beyond statutory 

requirements and the promotion 

of strict safety cultures ‘bought 

into’ by all seafarers. 

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, risk management 

director of the TT Club, 

said that with 18,000 TEU vessels 

entering service, a full load, positioned 

end to end, would stretch 

for about 70 miles. Assuming 85% 

capacity for commercial viability, 

each voyage would place greater 

demands on port and terminal facilities, 

particularly in relation to 

pilotage, tug services and loading/ 

discharging. This in turn would step 

up the extent of insurance requirements 

and add complexity to the 

associated contracts and assessing 

appropriate premiums. 

Precious cargoes 

Another speaker, Steve Cameron, 

maritime director of RTI Forensics, 

explained that the total cargo 

value of a well-laden 18,000- 

20,000 TEU vessel could exceed 

US$900M. Assuming individual 

container contents averaging 

US$50,000 and an 80% overall 

load, cargo worth US$750M 

could be six times the value of 

the carrying vessel. 

Insurance broker Andrew 

Webster, a partner at JLT Speciality, 

said that the insurance risk 

in new terminal projects could 

crop up in a very wide range of 

fields. While a project was 

underway, these could range from 

Cargill recently made its first 

grain shipment using an electronic 

freight document in an 

endeavour to cut paper documentation 

and speed up the 

processing of deals. 

The US agribusiness group 

completed its first trade using an 

electronic bill of lading, dubbed 

CargoDocs, developed by 

Malta-based Electronic Shipping 

Solutions. 

The importation of a single 

cargo by sea requires an average 

of 36 original paper documents 

and 240 copies from 27 separate 

parties, and amendments to bills 

INSURANCE 

Following losses such as the MSC FLAMINIA, ravaged by a fire last year, the 

IUMI will review an initiative on new fire-fighting facilities for boxships 

the construction process and cost 

overruns to protest actions and 

archaeological finds. Post-completion, 

they included risks from 

operations and maintenance, as 

well as technology performance 

and environmental questions. 

Recently, the International Union 

of Marine Insurance (IUMI) reported 

that it was reviewing a significant 

initiative on new fire-fighting 

facilities for containerships in the wake 

of major losses such as the MSC 

FLAMINIA, ravaged by a fire at sea in 

July 2012. This will be launched at 

IUMI’s annual conference in London 

next September, and then discussed 

with the IMO’s maritime safety committee 

and with flag states. 

In the meantime, all eyes will 

be on what further regulatory 

changes may be in the offing under 

the IMO’s Convention for 

Safe Containers when the agency’s 

maritime safety committee 

next meets. ❏ 

Electronic grain gain 

of lading at ports and customs 

posts, which are common, making 

the process even more cumbersome. 

The transfer of bills of lading 

took 19 minutes for Cargill’s 

grain shipment from Houston to 

Veracruz in Mexico on the dry 

bulk carrier UBC BREMEN. Cargill 

is working to expand the use of 

CargoDocs across various tanker 

routes and petroleum barge 

trades in Europe. 

“After nearly 150 years of paper 

bills of lading, the first electronic 

BL represents an historical 

milestone for us,” said Cargill. ❏ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.sicom-containers.com 

Since 

1975 your container manufacturer in Europe 

82 

May 2013

INSURANCE 

Club launches container cover 

Piracy moves 

to menace 

West Africa 

The hijacking of the German fully cellular, 

2008-built containership CITY OF 

XIAMEN in late April served to illustrate 

that the piracy flashpoint has moved from 

Somalia, where incidents have shown a 

big reduction, to West Africa. The growing 

number of attacks and successful 

hijackings in the Gulf of Guinea are pushing 

up insurance costs and damaging and 

disrupting trade, and “insider complicity” 

is suspected. A report was published by 

worldcargonews.com on 12 April 2012 (“Pirates 

step up West African attacks”). 

According to a new Reuters report, 

the International Maritime Bureau, the 

industry watchdog, said that 14 heavily 

armed pirates attacked the vessel and 

breached its citadel. The pirates took five 

officers and crew captive, including the 

master, before escaping with cash and the 

crew. The whole incident remained 

something of a mystery at the time of 

writing, with the ship still anchored off 

Equatorial Guinea and relatives of the 

crew unable to obtain any information. 

Ransom demands 

But it can be said that the pirates operating 

in this area are increasingly focusing 

on taking hostages in order to extract ransom 

payments. In a region where political 

uncertainty and military actions are 

documented in the media almost daily, 

there is a grey area between the motives 

of pirates and terrorists on land pulling 

the strings, some observers assert. 

It is interesting to note that at the end 

of 2012 the first boxship with a built-in 

citadel was delivered to its owners, Eastern 

Mediterranean Maritime in Greece. 

Two sister ships will follow the 

1,700TEU TZINI. As an anti-piracy measure, 

a citadel was incorporated in the 

vessel’s design, and was fitted in the steering 

gear room. Inside, the crew have control 

capability of the vessel, emergency 

rations, safe air supply, CCTV control, 

and good external communications. 

Could this be the way ahead for 

containerships, at least for smaller types 

Released hostages 

Meanwhile, some of the seafarers who 

were held hostage for almost three years 

after the general cargo ship ICEBERG was 

hijacked by Somali pirates were pictured 

in Mumbai at a meeting of the International 

Transport Workers’ Federation’s 

maritime safety committee. Those present 

heard of the appalling treatment suffered 

by the 23 crew members during their long 

ordeal, including beatings and torture. 

One crewman died as a result of malnutrition, 

and the seamen had to watch 

their officers being hung upside down 

and tortured, and the ears of a senior officer 

being chopped off for failing to 

move the ship. 

From mid-May, a new motion picture, 

A Hijacking, is on general release, inspired 

by real events. The film has been widely 

praised with one critic telling audiences to 

prepare for nerve-shredding tension. 

The ROZEN, seen on screen, was actually 

hijacked by Somali pirates in 2007, and 

some of its crew are also in the film, which 

was shot on the cramped interior of the 

vessel off the Somali coast. ❏ 

Norway’s Gard P&I Club has introduced 

the latest product to its range, a property 

policy to cover damage to or loss of containers 

– on and off the ship. Launched in 

March, the Container and Equipment 

Cover (CEC) was developed to meet the 

needs of container owners, operators or 

lessees, typically liner vessel operators. 

CEC will respond to theft, loss of or 

damage to containers, flatracks, roll trailers 

and similar equipment used for carrying 

goods. In addition, it covers a container’s 

contribution to general average. 

CEC complements liability insurances 

like P&I and the Comprehensive Carriers 

Cover. But while marine liability insurance 

is normally closely linked to the 

insured ship, the main focus of CEC is 

the cargo carrying equipment. 

CEC is not restricted to sea transport. 

For example, if a box sustains damage 

whilst being stored at a shoreside terminal 

or during inland transport by truck, 

the cover may still respond. 

The limit of cover is tailored according 

to the insured’s needs, with a maximum 

limit of US$50M for all claims arising 

out of one and the same incident. 

Where replacement and insured values are 

different, CEC covers the lesser value. 

Gard’s CEO Claes Isacson said that 

since the company provided P&I and/or 

marine insurance to more than half of the 

world’s container fleet, extending the 

product portfolio to cover the containers 

themselves was a natural next step. 

Exposure 

He added: “Liner operators take responsibility 

for the overall transport cost, time, 

delivery detail and quality of their clients’ 

transport chains. Thus, they are increasingly 

exposed to a wide range of risks in 

their daily operations relating to the transportation, 

storage and handling of cargo. 

Our ability to offer seamless coverage is a 

strong proposition.” 

The new CEC cover is basically a 

property insurance. What happens inside 

the container while it is on the move remains 

of pressing concern to all P&I clubs. 


news 

Bad stowage 

Meanwhile, the UK Club has reiterated 

that one of the main contributory causes 

of container cargo damage is bad stowage. 

“It would seem we have merely shifted the 

cargo problem further back up the transit 

chain,” was its caustic remark. 

A considerable proportion of the UK 

club’s time is taken up handling container 

cargo claims where 25% of the damage is 

physical, 14% temperature-related, 11% 

boxes lost overboard, 9% theft and 8% 

shortage. 

The club reckons that shore error now 

accounts for around 27% of large container 

claims, compared to 19% for all 

types of cargo claims. Tie this in with bad 

stowage statistics and it seems to point to 

problems originating at stuffing. 

However, although it is a major 

cause of container cargo damage, said 

the club, it would be wrong to lay the 

origin of all container cargo claims on 

bad stowage alone, and it lists no fewer 

than 25 other reasons for damage. Its 

statistics show that container cargo 

claims it handles by vessel type now 

occupy the No. 3 slot (15%), after 

bulkers (28%) and dry cargo (25%). 

As a postscript, the TT Club estimates 

there are 95M loaded container movements 

a year. Because of the woes currently 

besetting the container trades, this 

number must be suspect, but in the long 

term it will rise exponentially. ❏ 

May 2013 83

BY GAUSS 

IN 

RA

Tanjung Priok super port - WorldCargo News Online

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