ZPMC RTG changes - WorldCargo News Online

WorldCargo 

OCTOBER 2005 

ZPMC is planning several changes 

to its standard RTG, of which it 

now produces more than one a 

day. Its current base design features 

a chain drive powering wheels on 

diagonally opposite sides of the 

structure. The wheels are driven 

by a vertically-mounted 45kw 

motor connected with a spiral 

bevel gear and helical cylindrical 

gear reducer to a chain transmission. 

The reducer has an adjustment 

setting to cope with chain 

stretch and ZPMC has fitted 

wheel brakes in some instances to 

avoid the problem of the chain 

snapping in an emergency stop. 

ZPMC has now come up with 

a direct drive system, with the 

gearbox attached directly to a 

drive shaft, and plans to fit this as 

standard soon. It is also upgrading 

its standard rope reeving and antisway 

arrangement from a 4-rope 

In a decision that has shocked the 

shipping and automotive industries, 

the New South Wales government 

will close Sydney’s Glebe Island car 

terminal in late 2008 and relocate 

the city’s entire vehicle and ro-ro 

trades to Port Kembla. 

The Glebe Island move will 

follow the eviction of commercial 

shipping from Darling Harbour by 

September 30 next year and will 

leave Sydney Harbour (Port 

Jackson) with little more than 

cruise/ferry calls and liquid bulk activities. 

The Darling Harbour closure 

was already forcing the transfer 

of remaining container and 

breakbulk services to Port Kembla 

and the consolidation of wheeled 

traffic at Glebe Island, where existing 

leases are due to run until 2012 

(2017 with options). 

Patrick/P&O Ports’ Australian 

system with mechanical anti-sway 

to an 8-rope reeving where the 

ropes are reeved off a single drum 

in four inverse triangles to fixed 

mountings on the headblock. A 

hydraulic fine positioning system 

Amalgamated Terminals (AAT) 

facility at Port Kembla, incorporating 

the port’s original multipurpose 

berth and an extension 

completed this year, will be 

opened by next September and a 

third multi-purpose berth, already 

under construction, is due for 

completion in 2007. The government 

says this will provide enough 

space for larger car carriers and 

stage one of a pre-delivery area. 

A fourth new general cargo 

and bulk berth will now be constructed, 

for completion in 2008 

at the same time as an extension 

of the auto pre-delivery area. 

NSW premier Morris Iemma 

said the new A$140 mill facility 

would enable Port Kembla to handle 

more than 240,000 motor vehicles 

a year and take 300 trucks 

off the streets of inner Sydney. The 

news 

ZPMC RTG changes 

One of ZPMC’s RTG enhancements is a direct drive system 

is fitted between the spreader and 

the headblock. 

For some time now ZPMC has 

offered a hydraulic jacking system 

that lifts the whole machine off the 

ground so the wheels can be turned 

new facilities will have a capacity 

to hold 14,000 vehicles at one time 

compared to Glebe Island’s 5000. 

Industry, however, says the decision 

is illogical, expensive and inefficient. 

Glebe Island has been de- 

through 90 deg without wear on 

the tyres and the drive system. MHI 

retrofitted a similar system to RTGs 

in Hong Kong several years ago and 

other manufacturers have also fitted 

jacks in the past, but moved 

away from them as hydraulic systems 

have increasingly been replaced 

with electrical controls. 

ZPMC, however, has fitted its jacking 

system to over 450 RTGs and 

plans to incorporate it as a standard 

feature in future. 

Other ZPMC developments 

related to RTGs include super capacitors 

to reduce the power requirement 

from the diesel engine, 

a tyre pressure monitoring system 

and a telescoping stacking guide. 

The latter consists of folding arms 

that lower a beam below the bottom 

corner castings of a lifted container. 

The beam has two fixed 

guides that position the container 

correctly end-on-end and two telescopic 

guides to bring the load 

into position laterally. MHI and 

Mitsui have also produced stacking 

guide systems. 

Early axe for Glebe Island 

More than 25 years experience 

with worldwide service 

and spare parts net. 

Hammar Maskin AB 

SE-517 95 Olsfors, Sweden 

Tel: (+46) 33 29 00 00, Fax: (+46) 33 29 00 01 

E-mail: hammar@hammarmaskin.se 

Internet: www.hammarmaskin.se 

The closure of the Glebe Island car terminal has been brought forward to 2008 

scribed by P&O Ports as the most 

efficient car terminal in Australia 

thanks to its 24/7 operation and 

the easy access to major roads for 

delivery to the Sydney metropolitan 

market (see article on page 22). 

The Sideloader Specialist 

HAMMAR – The intelligent way of 

handling and distributing containers. 

Semitrailer integrated units for 20’– 45’ 

(20’– 48’) containers. 

Truck mounted models for 20’ containers. 

Choose from 20, 25, 30, 33 or 36 tonnes 

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Bidding war for 

P&O Ports? 

A bidding war for P&O Ports is 

on the cards after it was announced 

in London that a “tentative 

approach” had been made 

by Dubai Ports World (DP World). 

This is the name for the newlycombined 

DPA, DPI and former 

CSXWT operations run by Mohammed 

Sharaf, former CEO of 

DPI Terminals. Shares in P&O 

Steam Navigation Company rose 

by 39 per cent to £4.2975 on the 

news - enough to value the company 

at £3.12 bill (US$5.5 bill). 

Including joint venture interests, 

P&O Ports handled 13.8 mill 

containers last year, with Asian and 

Indian terminals accounting for 

half of this. Taking into account 

the forecast 12.5 mill TEU to be 

handled by former CSXWT operations, 

other DP World concessions 

and home port operations 

in Dubai, the addition of P&O 

Ports would rocket DP World 

above APM Terminals and much 

closer to PSA International 

(Temasek), with Hutchison Port 

Holdings (HPH) still at the top. 

Both Temasek and Maersk/ 

APMT have been suggested as rival 

bidders, although not HPH as 

it would run into strong opposition 

on competition grounds. But 

French wagon builder Arbel Fauvet 

Rail (AFR) has demonstrated for 

the first time the prototype of its 

new combi-wagon designed to cater, 

inter alia, for standard, non-liftable 

trailers. As previously reported, 

standard road trailers are driven 

onto and secured to a liftable frame 

that forms part of the wagon floor 

after the lift has been completed. 

This is similar in principle to 

the Hungarian basket wagon solution 

developed several years ago. 

Only recently this was turned 

down by the Dutch Rail Freight 

Users’ Platform as a solution for 

mass transfer of non-lifting trailers 

from road to the Betuwe Link. 

Nevertheless French UIRR 

company Novatrans is AFR’s partner 

in the project and took part 

in the demonstration at the Delta 

3 terminal in Dourges. The wagon 

can also cater for piggyback trailers 

as well as swap bodies and containers 

and can be integrated into 

any intermodal train consist. Homologation 

tests are due to commence 

next April. Assuming the 

wagon obtains RFF certification, 

an initial series of eight will be 

built for Novatrans. 

Another possible user of the 

wagon could be Euro Cargo Rail, 

the new vehicle for EWS International, 

the international arm of the 

UK’s biggest rail freight operator, 

which has finally obtained an operating 

licence from RFF. 

After French group Connex, 

which has already begun an operation 

between Eastern France 

and Germany carrying bulk lime 

products, EWS will become the 

second “newcomer” to compete 

on the French network against 

SNCF Fret. 

Euro Cargo Rail will focus on 

point-to-point services between 

a bid from Temasek would also 

meet strong opposition as it would 

turn Antwerp into a PSA monopoly. 

Of all the “names in the 

frame” DP World is the most complementary 

with P&O Ports, with 

hardly any overlap in coverage. 

It was already speculated that 

the takeover of P&O Nedlloyd 

by Maersk would leave P&O 

Ports “vulnerable” to a bid as traffic 

would shift from its own operations 

to those run by APMT. 

Competitive bidding would push 

up the asking price, but with the 

IMF forecasting an increase of 7.4 

per cent in global trade this year 

and a further 7.6 per cent in 2006, 

P&O Ports’ portfolio in Asia and 

India in particular, along with its 

new concessions in north Europe, 

must be an attractive proposition. 

DP World is a commercial entity, 

as the regulatory and administration 

functions of DPA have 

been transferred to the new Dubai 

Ports and Jebel Ali Free Zone 

Authority, headed up by Jamal 

Majid Bin Thaniah. 

DP World is being advised by 

Deutsche Bank on a possible bid. 

Banks in Dubai are awash with 

money and DP World is controlled 

by the emirate’s ruling family. 

New combi-wagon 

industrial centres in the north of 

France, such as Calais, Dunkirk 

and Tourcoing. An initial order for 

four multi-current Vossloh G1206 

locos is slated for delivery at the 

end of this year and there are options 

on more locos. 

IN THIS ISSUE 

NEWS 

Ram launches FlexiLift 2 

KCI in Ukraine port deal 5 

Move for Teesport 11 

PN battle joined 20 

CIMC profit dives 21 

AUSTRALIA REVIEW 

Breakbulk squeeze in Oz 22 

Sydney landside moves 24 

Waterfront productivity up 25 

PORT DEVELOPMENT 

Highway H 2 O 26 

Mexican ports ramp up 27 

Hurricanes getting worse? 29 

LaGrange on Katrina 30 

CARGO HANDLING 

Record year for RTGs 32 

Yard crane automation 36 

Crane brake safety 38 

Harbour mobile update 39 

New tyres launched 41 

Erect crane moves survey 43 

CONTAINER INDUSTRY 

Seal standard gets closer 46 

New seals unveiled 48 

Dry bulk liner growth 49


news 

Ram launches FlexiLift 

Ram Spreaders has introduced a 

new headblock design, FlexiLift, 

for handling 40ft or 45ft containers 

side-by-side with twin spreaders. 

According to Ram, during trials 

in China, FlexiLift achieved 60 

40ft moves/crane hour in only its 

fourth operation. 

Ram says the FlexiLift provides 

a potential breakthough to 

new higher levels of productivity 

for both current and future specifications 

of ship-to-shore cranes. 

Other known approaches to twin 

40/45 handling are ZPMC’s twin 

hoist crane, the Bromma Tandem 

spreader (one of which has been 

ordered by a Hutchison terminal) 

and the Stinis split headblock. 

The FlexiLift design uses hydraulic 

cylinders to position and 

adjust the headblock, providing 

precise control and positioning of 

both spreaders and containers. As 

the two spreaders are separated or 

adjusted, the headblock sheaves 

and hoist ropes are always at the 

true centres above each spreader 

providing stability, maintaining balance 

and full control when han- 

2 

Ram Spreaders says that tests with FlexiLift at a terminal in China showed 

that it can generate major increases in productivity 

dling single or twin containers. 

With hydraulically controlled 

skew, longitudinal offset, vertical 

float and list and tilt functions, the 

crane operator is able to make precise 

and controlled adjustments to 

each container, ensuring fast and 

safe discharge and loading, says 

Ram. Containers can be positioned 

at different heights, providing easy 

single trailer loading while the second 

container is held clear. Side and 

end gather guides ensure easy alignment 

of the spreaders to the containers 

being handled. 

To provide the new FlexiLift 

with maximum usable lift capacity, 

Ram has also developed the 

model 2350 spreader, a new, lightweight 

telescopic 40/45ft design. 

However other Ram spreaders can 

be fitted to the FlexiLift in minutes, 

allowing single or twin 20ft, 

40ft or 45ft containers to be handled, 

or even four 20ft boxes using 

the RAM 2600 or 2900 series 

twinlift spreaders. 

Ram’s executive director 

Robert Mills expanded on the importance 

of integrating spreader 

and headblock design with developments 

in container crane specification. 

“As well as tackling the 

issue of stability and control in han- 

Timars Universal OHA 

-an overheight frame 

for all your needs and 

for all your spreaders 

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dling twin 40/45 containers, we 

focused strongly on providing 

maximum productive lift capacity 

in line with current and anticipated 

crane developments. Most current 

post-Panamax quay cranes currently 

in operation have a rope capacity 

of around 78-80 tonnes, 

which using the new FlexiLift 

headblock model 3350 and twin 

Ram 2350 spreaders, provides a 

SWL of around 56 tonnes, or two 

28 tonne containers. 

“However for newer cranes 

with a typical rope capacity of 85 

tonnes, the Model 3360 FlexiLift, 

although a little heavier, gives at 

least 60 tonnes SWL. We anticipate 

that we will soon see 100 

tonne plus capacity cranes in operation 

and we plan to extend the 

range to provide a SWL of at least 

65 tonnes for handling twin 32.5 

tonne containers.” Earlier this year 

Ram launched its new 3900 series 

electric separating twinlift 

spreader (see WorldCargo News, 

June 2005, p3). 

● Bromma has received another 

order for a Tandem 40/45 

spreader, this time from PSO Iran 

in connection with its order for 

eight new 65 tonne-61m cranes 

from ZPMC for the Port of 

Shahid Rajaee (see WorldCargo 

News July 2005, p21). The other 

spreaders being supplied with the 

cranes are Bromma twin 20s. 

As briefly reported in last month’s 

issue of WorldCargo News (p1), 

Liebherr is building a post- 

Panamax (46m/16-wide outreach) 

crane for the Port of Lyttelton, 

New Zealand. Features include 

19m rail gauge, 14.5m backreach, 

lift height of 34m above rail and 

capacity under the spreader of 60 

tonnes for twinlift operations with 

a separating type twin spreader. 

Lyttelton is spending NZ$18 

mill on the crane and associated 

civil works including improvements 

to the seaside rail support 

beams to take higher wheel loads 

and an expansion of the terminal 

area. It is also considering refurbishing 

its two existing cranes, one 

of which is also a Liebherr, to include 

driver cabs identical to the 

new crane, upgraded electronic 

control systems and improved 

power output. 

The crane is due to arrive in 

sections in October 2006 and be 

commissioned in December. Shipping 

to New Zealand is always a 

major cost and, because of the timing, 

Liebherr is not in a position to 

ship the Lyttelton crane with the 

sections for the two post-Panamax 

CARGO HANDLING NEWS 

3 in 1 

Dear Sir, 

In your July 2005 issue on page 

32 you showed a photo with a 

barge loaded with three container 

cranes with the caption 

“ECC believes this is the first 

time that three container 

cranes have been moved on 

one barge shipment.” 

To set the record straight, 

10 years ago we arranged 

transport of four container 

cranes in one barge shipment 

- the barge HEEREMA and the 

tug LADA - from Abu Dhabi to 

Singapore. Thereafter, we constantly 

arranged container 

crane shipments by barge with 

at least three cranes per shipment. 

So you can call such 

moves standard shipments. 

Yours faithfully, 

Dirk Ramm 

Courier and Shipping Services 

Hamburg GmbH 

(CASH Bargteheide) 

Germany 

Editor’s note: We should have 

qualified the quoted remark as 

referring to a US coastwise 

move. 

Liebherr reports 

new crane orders 

(43m outreach) cranes it is building 

for CentrePort Wellington (see 

WorldCargo News July 2005, p21) 

as these are due for delivery in the 

second quarter. 

The New Zealand market has 

produced five orders for a total of 

seven ship-to-shore container 

gantry cranes since 2000 and for 

at least four orders the decision has 

come down to a choice between 

Liebherr or ZPMC. 

Liebherr has won at Tauranga, 

Wellington (2) and Lyttelton 

while ZPMC was successful in 

Auckland (2) and Port Chalmers. 

Ports have had a difficult time deciding 

but a Lyttelton spokesperson 

said “wharf loading in the end 

became the biggest differentiator” 

and Liebherr’s lattice boom design 

is lighter than ZPMC’s preferred 

twin box girder design. 

The Liebherr cranes currently 

on order and the smaller one (40 

tonnes-32m) in build for Forth 

Ports Plc’s Grangemouth operation 

(see WorldCargo News July 

2005, p21)are all being fitted with 

Liebherr dc drives and the 

Liebherr Winscan crane management 

system. 

Nacco Materials Handling Group has announced that the Hyster Europe 

plant in Nijmegen has turned out its 125th reach stacker. “The reach 

stacker is the biggest truck we produce here at Nijmegen and to have built 

so many since production started in 1996 not only reflects the unique 

qualities of this truck, it is also a tribute to the Nijmegen staff who have 

worked extremely hard to reach this milestone,” said the plant’s production 

manager Pieter Jan van Rijnbach. Hyster has been in the reach stacker 

market for about 10 years, after it purchased the original Hyco designs (see 

WorldCargo News March 1995, p1). Nijmegen employs over 50 engineers 

in the development of its big trucks line. Currently 10 different models, 

mainly mast trucks, are built at the plant. Assembly, aftermarket and 

transportation teams are based in-house 

October 2005


Embarcadero into Europe Siemens 

Embarcadero Systems Corp (ESC), a sister 

company of Marine Terminals Corp 

under MTC Holdings, has secured major 

contracts for technology and systems 

at the Euromax terminal in Rotterdam 

and APMT’s new facility in Zeebrugge. 

ESC has been appointed prime contractor 

in a consortium that will provide 

the terminal operating system (TOS) and 

equipment control system (ECS) for the 

new automated joint venture facility of 

P&ON (now Maersk) and ECT in Rotterdam. 

Euromax will use CATOS, the 

core TOS developed by Total Soft Bank 

(TSB) of Korea and marketed in Europe 

and North America by ESC, and the 

FROG4 ECS solution developed by Frog 

Systems BV of the Netherlands. 

FROG (Free ranging on grid) was the 

original control system developed for the 

first AGVs at ECT. As previously reported 

TSB developed the TOS for the automation 

project using AGVs and ASCs for a 

terminal at Gwangyang. Although this terminal 

has yet to be built, the technology 

is finding its way into other terminals. 

PECT Busan is using the ASC control 

system developed by Seoho Electric (see 

this issue p36) and the Euromax project 

has already used simulation software developed 

by TSB to evaluate the productivity 

of AGVs compared to other equipment 

systems. 

Euromax’s willingness to look beyond 

established automation suppliers perhaps 

opens the door for Hyundai Samho HI 

and others such as MES and MHI to bid 

for the AGV contract. Hyundai Samho 

(previously Hyundai HI) has previously 

demonstrated two of its machines at 

Gwangyang and has quoted its design for 

European orders. 

At APMT’s Zeebrugge terminal, ESC 

will install an automated gate system featuring 

its smartGATE technology at two 

in and two out portals covering nine truck 

lanes in total, five in and four out. 

SmartGATE will provide voice, video and 

data systems to operate the gates remotely 

from the control room. SmartLOG will 

Consens 

moving 

forward 

Germany-based Consens Transport 

Systeme GmbH reports that it is moving 

ahead with its straddle carrier production 

programme. The first of four 1 over 3 diesel-electric 

drive machines ordered by 

NTB Bremerhaven (see WorldCargo News 

August 2005, p25) is slated for delivery 

by year end. 

In addition, a 1 over 2 straddle carrier 

is now in build for a US East Coast terminal 

operator and a 1 over 1 shuttle carrier 

is being built for a leading international 

terminal operator. The identities of 

these customers have not been disclosed, 

nor the ports where the machines will be 

put into operation. 

It transpires, meanwhile, that KCI 

Konecranes is no longer a shareholder of 

Consens. Earlier this year the Finlandbased 

crane maker acquired a minority 

stake (see WorldCargo News June 2005, 

p28). It is understood that a sale back to 

Consens was completed by the end of 

September, with existing private investors 

covering the purchase by increasing their 

own stakes in Consens. 

● SMV LIfttrucks AB, part of KCI 

Konecranes, is again extending its plant 

in Markaryd, Sweden, in order to increase 

capacity to 350 units/year. The testing 

ground has been relocated and a new 

2000 m 2 parts storage area will free up 

space to extend the assembly line. SMV’s 

managing director K-G Salomonnson 

says that the enlargement is being carried 

out in such a way that production 

capacity can be further increased to 450- 

500 units/year with very little additional 

investment. 

provide a complete video record of all 

equipment entering and exiting and 

OCR will be used to identify container 

numbers, hazardous placards and confirm 

seal presence. 

Truck calls will be managed by a webbased 

appointment system and truck drivers 

will be identified at the gate and at 

various locations around the terminal by 

proximity card readers and biometric 

identification as ESC explains; “Trucker 

identification is verified using a proximity 

card system based on the MYFARE 

chip technology. Verification of the 

truckers by ID and in person is done 

through biometrics scanning the left hand 

IN ACTION 29.b 

12 

of the trucker. A web-based trucker appointment 

system will be integrated to 

steer truckers coming to the terminal on 

time while their containers are released 

by customs, guaranteeing quick service 

times and avoiding trucker congestion at 

the facility.” 

In a separate development, ESC has 

released version 3.1 of its VinTelligent 

automotive yard management system. 

This latest version features a new module, 

VinInsight, that allows “cross-terminal 

visibility to terminal managers, carriers 

and OEM customers across 

VinTelligent-equipped terminals” using 

a secure Internet connection. 

Automation and Drives and 

CePLuS Steuerungstechnik GmbH 

have announced that they will combine 

their activities in anti-sway systems for 

cranes. To this end, Siemens has acquired 

a controlling interest in CePLuS. The 

joint further development of anti-sway 

systems at CePLuS is intended to drive 

forward product innovations in harbour 

and industrial cranes and bring them to 

market faster, says an official Siemens 

statement. 

In operating crane systems, it continues, 

automation engineering is crucial 

to increasing handling speed and 

thus boosting productivity. The tech- 


news 

Siemens/Ceplus team up 

nologies for suppressing load sway play 

a central role here. For this purpose, Siemens 

has developed the Touchmatic/ 

Hipac system for harbor cranes and used 

it in a host of applications. Under the 

name Cesar maxx, CePLuS offers antisway 

systems for bridge cranes, slewing 

cranes, container gantry cranes, etc. 

Systems for all application areas are 

expected to be developed and jointly 

marketed faster and more efficiently 

thanks to the participation of Siemens. 

As well as continuing to market the 

Cesar maxx system direct as before, 

CePLuS will also use Siemens’ global 

sales network. 

Cavotec in action. 

At the busy Evergreen terminal in Los Angeles, 8 Cavotec Specimas “Pull & 

Store” reels are at home. Mounted on container cranes they pull along large 

cables with fibre optics for power and controls, ensuring that the cable always 

has the right tension. In this terminal you also find 1100 meters of Panzerbelt 

cable protection system, a system now used in more than 300 port 

applications around the world. 

Cavotec systems are renowned for 

Our contribution to efficient 

port operation. 

their reliability and efficiency. This 

makes them the optimal choice for 

port and terminal operators 

around the world. 

The Cavotec Group consists of six 

manufacturing "Centres of Excellence" located in Canada, France, Germany, 

Italy and Sweden and by five local manufacturing units in Australia, China, 

Germany, Sweden and U.S.A. For the distribution of products and support to 

its customers Cavotec has 22 strategically located sales and services companies. 

For further information, please email us at info@cavotec.com or visit our website www.cavotec.com 

October 2005 3


news 

4 

One of two Kalmar DCE75-6HE FLTs supplied earlier this year by 

Kalmar to Norske Skog’s paper mill in Albury, New South Wales, Australia. 

The trucks have a lifting capacity of 3600kg and are fitted with Kalmar 

hydrostatic drive and a legacy twinhead vacuum suction lift attachment. The 

newsprint, made up of 40 per cent recycled fibre and 60 per cent plantation 

pine, requires careful handling and the solution was to equip the trucks with 

vacuum suction lift attachments, which are designed to avoid clamp damage 

to the paper rolls. The attachment, able to lift two paper rolls weighing 

approximately 1500 kg simultaneously, is positioned on the standing rolls, 

while the vacuum is built to suck and lift the rolls for further transport in the 

warehouse. Both incorporate an automatic vertical mast function, which holds 

the rolls in a vertical position. This minimises the risk of damage to the end 

of the rolls when placing them on the floor, onto truck flats or when they are 

stacked. The work is intense, with some 640 tonnes of paper being moved in 

and out each day 


news 

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Shuttles 

for Sabah 

Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd has been revealed 

as the Malaysian port to 

order seven 1 over 1, 40 ton SWL 

Shuttle Carriers from Kalmar Industries 

(see WorldCargo News August 

2005, p26). The order from 

Sabah also comprises four reach 

stackers, nine 5-high ECH mast 

trucks and 26 terminal tractors for 

its facility at Kota Kinabalu. 

The Shuttle Carrier order is a 

breakthrough in Asia. Sabah Ports 

plans to use the machines to support 

its two, newly-acquired mobile 

harbour cranes (HMK 170 Es 

from Gottwald) operating on extended 

piers. Previously, Sabah 

employed a ship-to-shore crane to 

load and offload directly to tractor/trailer 

sets. Obviously the new 

grounding capability should lead 

to higher productivity. 

Suria Capital Group, owner of 

Sabah Ports, has also engaged 

Kalmar Asia to provide consultancy 

to another subsidiary, SP 

Satria, to improve support services 

at the port through a training 

and consultancy agreement. 

Two staff from Kalmar Asia in 

Hong Kong will be stationed in 

Kota Kinabalu for one year. 

Kalmar Asia will assist SP Satria 

with its management control systems, 

key performance indicators, 

training plans and workshop and 

warehouse management systems, 

as well as instilling a quality preventative 

maintenance culture 

based on its work experience in 

Hong Kong. 

Suria Capital Group’s managing 

director Haji Abu Bakar Haji 

Abas says that the group is positioning 

itself to provide worldclass 

port services. 

Floating crane - 

win some... 

Dear Sir, 

Thank you for the excellent article 

on our floating container 

crane concept in the July 2005 

issue of WorldCargo News (,p29). 

At the moment articles on the 

floating crane are appearing in 

the Far East, mixing it all up and 

making outrageous claims. 

A follow up study, including 

Delft University of Technology, 

Rotterdam Port Authority plus 

crane and systems manufactur- 

Dear Sir, 

I read with interest your recent 

article “Crane goes swimming 

with the tide?” on the floating 

container crane concept from 

the Royal Haskoning team in 

Holland. 

The Dutch invention seems 

identical to a concept I developed 

and described in “The Fourth 

Revolution” published by Containerisation 

International (CI) in 

December 1999 and in “2020 

Vision” in CI, January 2000. 

Moreover, in “Revolution Now,” 

a more recent CI publication 

(January 2002), I elaborated on 

the concept, describing the floating 

terminal as part of a broader 

shipping concept and a measure 

to overcome port constraints. Additional 

work on the technical aspects 

of the concept was performed 

by Michael Jordan of 

Liftech Consultants, Inc. 

ers seems to be assured now. I feel 

the publicity has helped achieving 

that. I intend to keep 

WorldCargo News informed on 

progress. 


Jan van Beemen 

Terminal Planner, Senior Port 

Consultant 

Maritime Rotterdam 

Haskoning Nederland BV 

Rotterdam 

...and lose some 

This concept has become 

widely known through many 

presentations, journal articles and 

media quotations, among them: 

TOC Europe (1999); Latin Ports & 

Shipping Conference (2000); Mundo 

Maritimo and El Universal Daily 

Newspapers, Panama (2000); American 

Association of Port Authorities 

Advisory (2000); The Journal of 

Commerce (2000); Cargo Systems 

(2000); Traffic World (2001); Marine 

Transportation System Conference, 

USA’s National Science Foundation 

(2001), TOC Americas (2001); International 

Freighting Weekly (2001); 

International Port Executives Conference 

(2002); Sri Lanka Maritime 

Conference (2002); and others. 

I would like also to note that a 

preliminary assessment of the 

floating concept in the context of 

the land-limited Port of Seattle 

was already included in my Master’s 

thesis (MIT, 1981). 


Altogether, as demonstrated 

above, this concept gained much 

publicity far in advance of your 

recent publication. One can only 

wonder why the development 

team of such a respected company 

as Royal Haskoning did 

not begin its research with a simple 

survey of widely available 

professional literature. 

Sincerely, 

Dr Asaf Ashar 

Professor-Research 

National Ports and Waterways 

Institute 

University of New Orleans 

USA 

Editor’s note: Over the years 

WorldCargo News has published 

a number of articles on floating 

container crane concepts, including 

a floating terminal from 

Casper, Philips & Associates (December 

1996, p52), a floating 

dock with multiple cranes from 

ZPMC (April 2000, p1) and a 

Marine Logistics/Liebherr concept 

(April 2001, p1). 

We also published a floating 

terminal concept from Dr Ashar 

in the July 2001 issue of 

WorldCargo News (p38), as part 

of an article based on presentations 

made at TOC Europe in 

Lisbon. A drawing from Prof 

Ashar published by us at that 

time shows floating cranes 

working on either side of a ship, 

each able to handle 48 TEU of 

containers in one massive lift. 

The floating crane is mounted 

on a semi-submersible hull and 

feeds barges, which are floated 

in and out. In publishing the 

Haskoning work, there was no 

intention on our part to mislead 

the market about the ideas available 

and we apologise if this impression 

has been given. 

VDL SMITS SPREADER SYSTEMS BV 

It pays to buy reliability 

Trasweg 6, 5712 BB Someren, The Netherlands 

Tel. +31 (0)493 44 00 55, Fax. +31 (0)493 44 16 10 

sales@smits-spreader.com - www.smits-spreader.com 

October 2005


KCI in Ukraine box port venture 

Ukrainian terminal operator UkrTrans- 

Konteiner (UTK), KCI Konecranes and 

Ukrainian crane manufacturer Zaparozhcrane 

have signed a co-operation agreement 

on the development of the 

Ilyichevsk marine merchant port 

(IMMP). 

IMMP has announced a programme 

for the development of a new container 

terminal, aimed at improving turnaround 

times for ships and thereby increasing 

container traffic. The service level will be 

improved to meet international standards 

by modernising all container handling 

equipment with the latest technology. By 

developing uninterrupted operations, 

IMMP is aiming to attract more customers 

and become the leading container terminal 

in Ukraine. The development programme 

is based on selecting high quality 

partners and equipment suppliers using 

modern methodologies and reliable 

technology. 

The Ukrainian Ministry of Transport 

and IMMP selected UTK to become the 

operator of the new container terminal. 

Within this agreement, KCI Konecranes 

and Zaparozhcrane have been selected 

to develop container handling technology 

for the port including new generation 

ship-to-shore container gantry 

cranes and RMGs. KCI Konecranes earlier 

supplied IMMP with two ship-toshore 

cranes, five RMGs and is currently 

delivering a new level-luffing crane. During 

the last 10 years KCI Konecranes has 

been involved in numerous modernisation 

projects at the port. 

In a related move KCI Konecranes has 

acquired a majority shareholding in 

Zaporozhcrane for around €3 mill. It says 

its intention is to reduce its stake to less 

than 50 per cent. Konecranes started contract 

manufacture of cranes at 

Zaporozhcrane in 1993 (a year before the 

latter was privatised), so it knows the company 

well. 

Zaporozhcrane (Zaporozhskij Zavod 

Tjazhelogo Kranostroenia - Zaporozhniy 

Heavy Crane Construction Plant) has to 

date built more than 10,000 cranes for 

Russian and Ukrainian concerns, including 

ports. The company’s premises are 

leased and they include 10 hectares of 

covered manufacturing space. 

Biggest deal 

yet for ABB 

ABB reports from Switzerland that its automation 

electrical systems contracts in 

relation to the P&ONL/ECT Euromax 

project in Rotterdam, which it won in 

conjunction with ZPMC (see WorldCargo 

News July 2005, p1), are worth US$52 

mill. The project is ABB’s largest single 

order to date for terminal automation 

equipment, exceeding the value of the 

separate phases of CTA Hamburg. 

As previously noted, over the full term 

of the contract (crane deliveries run to 

the end of 2008), ABB will supply automation 

and electrical systems for 76 cranes 

- 16 ship-to-shore units, 58 robotised 

RMGs and two intermodal RMGs. 

“We are delighted to play a key role 

in this milestone project,” said Dinesh 

Paliwal, head of ABB’s automation technologies 

division and president-designate, 

ABB Global Markets and Technology. 

“Our deep technology expertise in both 

the marine and terminal automation businesses 

will help ensure improved productivity 

for this key transport hub.” 

ABB’s scope of supply includes full 

crane automation and support systems, 

including controllers and software, lowvoltage 

AC motors and drives, electrical 

transformers and switchgear. ABB services 

include project management, engineering, 

customer training and commissioning. 

Building upon the success of 

similar projects in ports such as Singapore, 

Tokyo and Hamburg, ABB says that 

it will apply a range of innovative sensors, 

control and vision systems and optimum 

motion algorithms that offer 

maximum productivity for automated 

terminals. 

● KCI Konecranes has received orders for 

14 RTGs from two new customers for its 

best-selling, all-electric RTG design, for 

delivery between May and July next year. 

Dubai Ports World (DP World) has ordered 

five 40 tonne SWL 16-wheelers, 

lifting 1 over 5 and stacking 6+1, for its 

Constantza concession and four similar 

size 8-wheelers with 40 ton SWL and 

twinlift spreaders for its operation in 

Caucedo, Dominican Republic. 

In addition, P&O Nedloyd has ordered 

five 16-wheel all-electric RTGs for 

the new Los Angeles Container Terminal 

(LACT). Under a five-year lease agreement 

with the Port of Los Angeles, LACT 

will operate the new terminal with operations 

designed to minimise environmental 

impacts while efficiently moving 

freight. As previously reported in 

WorldCargo News (March 2005, p21), 

RTGs powered off the mains have been 

under active consideration within this 

“green paradigm.” 

However, LACT has settled for diesel-powered 

RTGs. Efficient fuel consumption 

and lower emissions are 

achieved by utilising state-of-the art engine 

power and exhaust gas-handling 

technology, says Konecranes, adding that 

sophisticated silencers are used for significantly 

lower noise levels. 

As of last month NC Nielsen A/S, based 

in Balling, Denmark, has assumed the 

Scandinavian dealership for Terberg terminal 

tractors. The company has had the 

Denmark dealership since 2000 and has 

contributed to Terberg becoming a leading 

marque in the Danish market. 

To complement the existing sales and 

service division in Denmark, Nielsen has 

opened a new Swedish office located in 

Ljungby (home to Svetruck, Ljungby 

Maskin and a large Kalmar FLT plant), with 

Björn Fritzell as sales manager. Fritzell, who 

has extensive experience in the terminal 

tractor market, started his carrier with 

Kalmar in Ljungby and became sales manager 

for Kalmar in Norway. Subsequently 


news 

Nielsen takes on Terberg 

The power of innovation. 

The visionary new Reachstacker from Linde. 

With its outstanding agility, superb precision and smooth control the new Reachstacker from Linde 

embodies all the finest qualities of refined power. 

Much more than just the sum of its parts, here is Man and machine in harmonious action. The fully 

integrated, versatile and responsive control and operating system is a visionary concept designed to 

make life easier. Combine this with Linde’s truly global service, spares and technical back-up and you 

can understand why we are world leaders. 

The visionary new Reachstacker from Linde: the next generation of working solutions delivering 

greater productivity and efficiency. 

Linde Heavy Truck Division Ltd 

Linde Industrial Park, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 4LA, GB 

Phone +44 (0) 1443 624200, Fax +44 (0) 1443 624302 

E-mail info.forklifts@linde-htd.com, www.linde-htd.com 

Head Office 

Linde Material Handling Division, PO Box 62, 63736 Aschaffenburg, Germany 

Phone +49 6021 990, Fax +49 6021 99 1570 

E-mail info.forklifts@linde-mh.com, www.linde.com/linde-forklifts 

Linde Material Handling 

he was sales manager with SMV LIfttrucks 

and will still represent SMV in Norway. 

The Ljungby division will also be in 

charge of sales, rental and service of 

Terberg terminal tractors in the Norwegian 

market in co-operation with Norwegian 

dealers Brubakkens Truckservice 

in Porsgrunn, Truckagent Bergen in 

Bergen and Elektro-Maskin in Sandnes. 

“We are proud to represent Terberg, 

the largest manufacturer of terminal tractors 

in Europe, on the Danish, Swedish 

and Norwegian markets and look forward 

to offer Terberg customers in Sweden 

and Norway our well-established 

quality and service concepts in the future,” 

said Poul Nielsen. 

October 2005 5


news 

Tideworks gains AdVantage 

Software solutions provider 

Tideworks Technology has teamed 

with Vantage OPS of Austin, Texas, 

to offer Mainsail users a terminal 

operations monitoring tool that 

delivers real-time information on 

key operational performance 

measures. Vantage OPS is a division 

of Optimization Alternatives 

Inc. Its intellectual property includes 

“difference engine technology” 

that taps an existing database 

in real-time with no data replication 

or warehousing. 

Terminal operating systems 

typically generate historical reports 

that are processed using 

standard query and response 

methods. Tideworks’ president 

Michael Schwank says Vantage 

offers a way to retrieve data in realtime 

that is “lightweight and low 

impact” in that it can be run over 

an existing database with minimal 

impact on its performance. Furthermore, 

it does not require complex 

integration to operate with 

Mainsail and Tideworks personnel 

can customise the user inter- 

6 

Conductix is the new brand 

name for all the Delachaux 

electricification companies supplying 

power delivery and data 

transfer systems for cranes and 

mobile mateirals handling plant 

worldwide. 

Facilities covered by the new 

name include the Insul-8 locations 

in the US, Canada, UK, 

Australia and Mexico, as well as 

Delachaux (parent company) 

Screenshot of the Vantage OPS digital “dashboard” from Tideworks 

face and reporting functions as 

required. 

Vantage gives Mainsail users an 

“operations dashboard” to view 

operational parameters and key 

performance indicators in realtime 

or over specified time periods. 

Three terminals are currently 

using Vantage with Mainsail for 

locations in France, Benelux, Germany, 

Italy (Comes Italia) and 

China (Han Fa). 

Conductix facilities around the 

world will be closely allied and 

coordinated, says an official statement, 

in order to capitalise on the 

group’s global resources. At the 

same time, Conductix will retain 

the local management “and service 

that its customers have come 

to expect.” 

gate, vessel moves and inventory 

status. Gate monitoring is particularly 

popular on the west coast 

because Vantage monitors the 

number of “problem trucks” and 

managers can take action before 

congestion becomes a problem. 

Vantage can be set up to provide 

alerts at productivity or per- 

According to Lon Miller, 

president of Conductix US, 

Canada, Mexico and Australia, the 

Conductix name “reflects our core 

business, products and engineering 

capability. A customer purchasing 

a Conductix product anywhere 

in the world will receive 

our cumulative experience, technical 

knowledge and world class 

support.” 

Miller added that Conductix 

formance thresholds such as when 

truck turn times reach a certain 

level, or when vessel productivity 

falls below a set number of moves 

per hour. Despite the sophistication 

of software in vessel planning 

and yard management, operations 

managers still call staff on the 

ground on the ’phone or over the 

radio to keep their finger on the 

pulse of what is happening in the 

terminal. 

In contrast, IT managers and 

TOS suppliers have responded to 

the increasing number and complexity 

of applications that terminals 

are running over the core TOS 

by installing off-the-shelf monitoring 

software to get real time access 

to key information such as exception 

data, database condition and 

CPU usage to keep complex IT 

systems stable and running. 

Tideworks says it recognised 

that operations managers need 

similar visibility into terminal operations. 

Replacing existing practice 

with a digital dashboard is as 

much a cultural as a technological 

change but Schwank says that once 

managers get used to the technology, 

and start to use it, the advantages 

quickly become apparent. 

Electrical charge from Conductix 

GE Consumer & Industrial 

Crane Control System Parts 

Drives: Af300, DC300, DC2000 

Innovation Drives 

AC/DC Motors and Spare Parts & Components 

PLC Parts and Components 

Series 90-30/70 PLC 

GENIUS I/O & Field Control 

Series Six PLC 

Repair, Exchange, Remanufactured, 

Test & Certificate Services available 

GE Lighting 

Specialty Lamps & Lighting Fixtures for 

Marine Application. 

GE also offers a wide range of lighting 

solutions for primarily use in Ports, 

Shipyards, Commercial and Military vessels. 

Hillmar Industries 

is committed to being a single 

source supplier and a leader in 

power and data transfer systems 

for cranes and other materials 

handling equipment. 

Next year Conductix will introduce 

a new line of cable carriers, 

along with “Smart Drive” 

cable reels which incorporate 

advanced, programmable variable 

frequency drives as well as 

a new line of cable carriers. 

International leader in the design and manufacturing of: 

Thrusters, Thruster Disc Brakes, Storm Brakes, Hydraulic 

Power Units, Industrial Disc Brakes & Cable Reels for 

Marine application 

Trailer manufacturer Dutch Lanka 

Trailer Manufacturers Ltd (DLT), 

based in Sri Lanka, reports a big 

increase in sales of terminal trailers 

to ports in South Asia, Africa 

and the Middle East this year. 

Altogether 12 ports have been 

supplied, says DLT. More than 100 

units have been delivered to P&O 

Ports’ South Asia Gateway Terminals 

and the government-operated 

SLPA terminal in Colombo. More 

than 50 units have gone to APM 

Terminals’ operations in Salalah 

and Aqaba, 45 to P&O Ports’ ATI 

facility in Manila, 30 units to PSO 

Iran for Bandar Abbas and 12 to 

DP World for Jebel Ali. Other 

ports supplied include Kuwait, 

Karachi and Chittagong. 

DLT was one of the first companies 

in the Asian region to 

manufacture cornerless bomb 

cart trailers and has more than 10 

years experience developing robust 

designs for port applications. 

The company says it remains 

highly competitive due to the 

strategic location of its manufacturing 

base in Sri Lanka, low labour 

costs and competitive shipping 

rates. Dutch technical col- 


Trailers go Dutch 

Federal Signal 

Another batch of trailers from DLT 

ready for shipment 

laboration ensures product quality 

similar to European standards. 

In its continued commitment to 

quality, DLT obtained ISO 9001 

certification in 2005. 

Growth opportunities include 

expansion in India and the Middle 

East, where increased cargo 

throughput is expected to see further 

increases in container traffic- 

with a need for these ports to 

grow to meet these challenges. 

DLT says its geographical proximity 

and strong marketing links 

will help it exploit these opportunities. 

Earlier this year DLT 

formed a joint venture with the 

Indian Tata conglomerate to 

manufacture trailers in India and 

there are plans to open a factory 

in Pune, India, next year. 

Set up 12 years ago, DLT now 

has a payroll of more than 200 at 

its plant in Sri Lanka and is capable 

of customising trailers for many 

applications. It continues to establish 

agencies to foster marketing 

links and provide service support 

for its products around the world. 

Argo International Corporation 

Headquartered in New York City with a Worldwide Global presence, Argo International is an Electrical and Mechanical Parts & Components distributor 

specializing in Material Handling applications. 

For over 50 years Argo has been serving Ports, Shipyards and Material Handling OEM’s in America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, please contact 

your nearest Customer Service center for immediate support: 

North & South America Europe Middle East & Africa India Pakistan & Bangladesh Far East 

140 Franklin Street Ankerrui 26-30 15 West Wind, Lokhandwala Complex D2,23/F, Jiangsu, 526 East Laoshan Rd. 

10013 New York NY 2000 Antwep Belgium Andheri (W), Mumbai 400 053 India 200122 Pudong, Shanghai 

Tel. (212) 431.1700 Tel. +32 (03) 222.9450 Tel. +91 (98) 201.83746 Tel. +86 (21) 5109.9683 

Fax. (212) 219.1751 

E-mail: info@argointl.com 

Fax. +32 (03) 231.0122 

E-mail: argo20@argoeurope.com 

Fax. +91 (22) 263.56034 

E-mail: gsubramani@argointl.com 

Fax. +86 (21) 5821.3707 

E-mail: info@argochina.cn 

ASI Robicon 

(ex. Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali) 

Parts and Components for: 

AC/DC Motors and Variable Frequency machines 

Prime worldwide Manufacturer of: 

Warning Lights, Intercom Systems, Horns, Bells 

and Sirens Communication Systems for indoor 

and outdoor applications 

Avtron 

Pyle-National 

Starline Plugs & Receptacles 

Industrial 

Encoders 

GE DC300 Drives Retrofit 

Danaher Controls 

Dynapar and Northstar 

Rotary and Linear Encoders 

October 2005

get the job done 

CRANES 

KCI Special Cranes Corp. | P.O. Box 662 | FIN-05801 Hyvinkää, FINLAND | Tel. +358 20 427 11 | Fax +358 20 427 2599 

PORT SERVICES 

KCI Konecranes Port Services | Am Pferdemarkt 31 | D-30853, Langenhagen, GERMANY | Tel. +49 511 7704 0 | Fax +49 511 7704 477 | e-mail: info@noellkci.com 

LIFTTRUCKS 

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news 

8 

New Spicer driveline from Dana 

Dana Corporation’s off-highway systems 

(OHS) group has introduced a new 

driveline aimed at 6-9 ton pneumatic 

tyre and 6-8 ton cushion tyre FLT. The 

transmission, axle and driveshaft components, 

says Dana, have been specifically 

engineered to accommodate the 

compact nature of these FLT applications. 

The new Spicer TE08 transmission 

offers reduced transmission length and 

output drop, helical gears for noise reduction 

and an integral engine pump 

drive for system hydraulics. It features 

55-82 kW (75-110 hp) of input power, 

with a maximum converter turbine 

torque of 875 Nm. 

The TE08 provides standard 2 + 2 

ratios of 1.951 (first gear), 1.023 (second 

gear), 1.745 (reverse 1) and 1.023 (reverse 

2), and standard 3 + 2 ratios of 2.972 (first), 

1.559 (second), 0.898 (third), 1.943 (reverse 

1) and 1.019 (reverse 2). It is available 

with an electronic solenoid clutch 

control offering directional and range 

modulation, or with fully electronic, micro-processor 

controls for smoother shifting 

and electronic inching. 

The Spicer model 138 axle offers integral 

frame and mast mounting provi- 

sions for fixed-mast FLT applications. A 

spiral bevel centre section and 6:1 planetary 

ratio results in 13:1 through 17:1 

overall axle ratios. With an overall length 

of 1.438mm and a 335mm bolt circle 

wheel hub, the 138 axle can be mounted 

on single or dual tyres. 

Integral wet disc brakes, which do not 

require mast removal for maintenance and 

provide longer service life compared to 

drum brakes, are fitted as standard. The 

service brake is self-adjusting to minimise 

hydraulic oil displacement requirements 

(13.5 cc), delivering a robust wheel torque 

of 29,000 Nm at 80-bar actuation pres- 

sure. In addition, a lever-actuated parking 

brake produces 12,000 Nm of wheel 

torque with a 200 kg lever force. 

As part of the complete line of Spicer 

Italcardano wing-bearing driveshafts, 

the 6C driveshaft is designed with keys 

on the bearing blocks to promote 

torque transfer through mechanical tolerance. 

These keys are mated to corresponding 

machined slots on the connecting 

fitting yokes. 

The 6c driveshaft has directly connected 

bearing blocks and output 

flanges that offer several design advantages, 

says Dana, such as highly flexible 

use, short application lengths, smaller 

joint working angles and U-joint kits 

that allow disassembly and replacement 

without dismantling the whole shaft. 

CARGO HANDLING/PORT NEWS 

Cargotec’s 

3Q interims 

Cargotec Corporation, which owns 

Kalmar Industries, has reported that it 

received orders worth €775 mill in the 

third quarter of 2005 and that the 

orderbook at 30 September stood at 

€1.237 bill. Net sales for June-September 

were €791 mill and operating income 

amounted to €59.7 mill. 

“Port operations were buoyant in all 

markets,” says the Cargotec statement to 

the Helsinki stock exchange. “Demand for 

Kalmar’s yard handling equipment was at 

a very high level. Also the demand for heavy 

industrial handling equipment was good.” 

Kalmar’s sales in 3Q (with 2Q in parentheses 

for comparison) were €291.3 

mill (€406.8 mill) and its orders received 

came to €291.2 mill (€397.6 mill). As of 

30 September its orderbook stood at 

€583.1 mill - unchanged for the figure at 

the end of June 2005. 

Jebel Ali 

moves on 

International consultancy firm Scott 

Wilson has been appointed to design and 

supervise the infrastructure for Stage 1 of 

the expansion of DP World’s Jebel Ali 

container port. Jebel Ali New Container 

Terminal forms the first stage of a planned, 

15 stage expansion of the port over the 

next decade. 

Stage 1 includes 2.4 km of new berths, 

the construction of a container yard and 

other associated infrastructure works and 

buildings. The new port will be built on 

reclaimed land, which extends seaward 

from the existing port to the west of the 

Dubai Jumiera Palm Island complex. 

DP World has also signed a US$503.7 

mill contract with Belgian dredging contractor 

Jan de Nul to carry out dredging 

works and construction of rubble mound 

breakwaters and revetments to a length 

of 9 km for Stage I of the Jebel Ali New 

Container Terminal. The contract involves 

removing about 2.5 mill m 3 of rock, construction 

of floating pontoons at the eastern 

side of the new quay wall and providing 

navigation aids. 

● Qatari investors plan to build a US$700 

mill port in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout 

province next year.The port will be built 

in three phases, the first of which will cost 

US$250 mill. 

Infra Dighe 

Dighe, a minor port in the western Indian 

state of Maharashtra, is to be jointly 

developed by Balaji Infra Projects Ltd and 

financial services company IL&FS. 

Balaji bagged the project from 

Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and 

will hold at least 51 per cent of the equity. 

It has signed a memorandum of understanding 

with IL&FS, which will become 

a co-developer of the project and also take 

a 15 per cent stake in Dighe Port Ltd. MMB 

will take 11 per cent of the equity. 

Dighe will be the first private sector 

port in Maharashtra. The first phase of 

development. which will include a container 

terminal, is expected to be completed 

by 2008 and will have a capacity 

to handle 6-7 mill tons/year of cargo. 

Eventually, the port will have a total annual 

installed capacity of 15 mill tons 

The project is expected to cost Rs12 

bill (US$266 mill) of which Rs9 bill 

(US$199 mill) will be debt and the rest 

equity, according to Vishal Kalantri, director 

of Balaji and Dighe Port Ltd. IL&FS 

will help in syndicating the debt. 

SSKI, a Mumbai-based financial services 

company, will also advise Dighe Port 

on identifying strategic alliance partners 

among international shipping lines for specific 

parts of the development and on finding 

an operator for the port, Kalantri said. 

MMB wants to develop six or seven 

minor ports in the state but other projects 

have made no progress so far. 

October 2005

PORT NEWS 

Vancouver/TSI sign 50-year deal 

The Port of Vancouver Authority (VPA) 

and its largest terminal operator, TSI Terminal 

Systems Inc (OOIL group, Hong 

Kong), have signed a new 50-year agreement 

that will take effect once construction 

of a third berth at the port’s largest 

terminal, Deltaport, is completed. 

The additional berth will cost an estimated 

C$300 mill. Environmental and 

regulatory approvals are expected by the 

port early next year, with completion of 

the expansion project by January 1, 2009. 

Located at Roberts Bank near the mouth 

of the Fraser River, Deltaport is in an environmentally 

sensitive area. 

Deltaport handled 916,200 TEU last 

year and TSI expects to be able to handle 

1.3 mill TEU/year there once the expansion 

project is completed. TSI manages both 

Deltaport at Roberts Bank and Vanterm 

Tacoma death 

“accidental” 

The Washington State Department of 

Labor and Industries (DLI) has concluded 

its investigation into the death of a stevedore 

at Terminal 4 at the Port of Tacoma 

on 13 August. The terminal is leased to 

Evergreen and operated by Marine Terminals 

Corp. 

As previously reported (see WorldCargo 

News September 2005, p9), the accident 

happened as the stevedore was using an 

approved walkway to pass along the quay. 

A crane trolley with a container under the 

spreader was moving along the boom back 

to shore when the load struck another container 

on the ship, knocking it onto the 

walkway and crushing the stevedore. 

The investigation covered policies and 

procedures, training and all other matters 

related to the accident. At the time, local 

media reported that the accident was 

caused by a “crane malfunction” but this 

was found to be incorrect. The DLI made 

no comment on whether the crane driver 

was at fault. No citation was issued and 

no penalties assessed against MTC or any 

other party. Its official finding was that 

the death was an “accident.” 

It is not clear why the DLI was prepared 

to issue a report arriving at the entirely 

tautological conclusion that the accident 

it was called on to investigate was 

an accident. 

Clean trucks 

for Oakland 

The Port of Oakland has launched a programme 

designed to reduce emissions 

from trucks that operate at the port’s 

maritime facilities. As part of its Maritime 

Air Quality Program, the Port will 

allocate up to US$2 mill in incentive 

funding to assist owners of container road 

trucks, which operate in the port’s maritime 

area. 

The funding is to supplement the cost 

for truckers to replace older diesel trucks 

with newer trucks that have fewer PM 

and NOx emissions. “I see this as another 

major example of the port’s commitment 

to the environment and our 

local community,” said Kenneth S. 

Katzoff, President of the Oakland Board 

of Port Commissioners. “It is an initiative 

that we believe will contribute 

greatly to all of our collective efforts to 

improve air quality.” 

Port officials estimate that there will 

be around 80 qualifying truck owners 

who will be eligible for up to US$25,000 

each in incentive funding to replace their 

1986 or older truck with a 1999 or newer 

truck. 

The port has recently introduced its 

own version of the LA/LB PierPass 

scheme designed to avoid gate congestion 

in peak hours, with a pilot programme 

under way at the SSA Marineoperated 

Oakland International Container 

Terminal (last month’s WorldCargo 

News p25). 

located in Vancouver’s inner harbour. 

At mid-year, VPA reported that container 

shipments through Deltaport and 

the Burrard Inlet terminals, Vanterm and 

Centerm (P&O Ports Canada) had increased 

five per cent from 809,453 TEU 

to a record 853,238 TEU. Laden imports 

increased eight per cent to 404,450 TEU 

as the demand for Asian goods continued 

to grow, while laden exports fell by one 

per cent to 347,762 TEU. 

Announcing the Deltaport expansion 

Captain Norman Stark, president and 

CEO of TSI and former head of VPA said, 

“We have already made significant investments 

to increase capacity at Vanterm by 

http://offhighway.dana.com/c21 

© 2005 Dana Corporation 

almost 30 per cent to 600,000 TEU and 

Deltaport represents the next step in that 

process.” 

Port president, Gordon Houston 

added, “This agreement demonstrates the 

confidence of our operators in the future 

of the Port of Vancouver and, in particular, 

our container expansion programme 

at Roberts Bank.” 

Two ZPMC cranes (orange) were offloaded at 

TSI Vanterm earlier this year by ZHEN HUA 6. 

The ship had already offloaded one crane at 

TSI Deltaport and subsequently sailed to Long 

Beach with two cranes (white) for SSA- see 

also p45. (Photo: Alan Katowitz) 

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news 

October 2005 9

Liebherr-Export AG 

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PORT NEWS 

Teesport 

takeover 

on cards? 

UK ports operator PD Ports plc, recently 

tipped in the UK financial press as a likely 

candidate for a takeover, has indeed announced 

that it has received a “preliminary 

approach” from an unnamed party, 

widely believed to be Australia’s Macquarie 

Bank Group. The latter has just 

acquired the Isle of Man Steam Packet 

Company from Montagu Private Equity 

in a deal said to be worth £225 mill. 

Macquarie manages more than £13 

bill of infrastructure investments around 

the world and its British interests include 

South East Water, Birmingham and Bristol 

airports and the M6 toll road. 

The bidder may be banking on PD 

Ports getting the go-ahead from the 

British government for its planned, £500 

mill deepsea container terminal at 

Teesport. PD Ports has long argued that 

Britain’s new deepsea container capacity 

needs to be created outside the south 

east, which is not only congested, but 

also increasingly remote from the most 

important national container stripping 

points located in the north, exacerbating 

road and rail transport problems. 

It unsuccessfully lobbied the government 

to prioritise its scheme ahead of 

P&O Ports’ London Gateway project. 

Now that the latter has got the go-ahead, 

its best hope is to slot in ahead of 

Hutchison’s Felixstowe South and Harwich 

schemes. If both of these get the 

green light then, adding them to London 

Gateway, demand for new capacity 

outside the south east will, by PD 

Teesport’s own admission, be killed off 

for the next 10-15 years (see WorldCargo 

News July 2005, p6). 

PD Ports raised almost £200 mill 

from an initial public offering in July last 

year and earmarked the proceeds to finance 

the deepsea terminal project, 

which would have an eventual capacity 

of 1.5 mill TEU/year. Earlier last year it 

was acquired by Stewart Collins, a London 

brokerage, from Nikko Principal Investments. 

● Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) has 

announced that the Port of Felixstowe 

handled record-breaking intermodal rail 

traffic in the month of September 2005 

- 32,386 containers. There are now 24 

inbound and 23 outbound trains/day 

from the port’s North and South rail terminals. 

On average about 21 per cent of 

inland moves over Felixstowe move by 

rail but the percentage in September was 

somewhat higher than that, said a port 

spokesman. 

Göteborg’s 

big spend 

The biggest investment package in the 

Swedish Port of Göteborg’s history - the 

enhancement of the container terminal 

and the adaptation of the ro-ro terminal 

to a partly new role - will be inaugurated 

at the end of this month. 

The container terminal substructure 

has been strengthened to accommodate 

an increased water depth alongside as well 

as higher loadings from heavier containers 

and bigger container cranes. The roro 

terminal has been similarly reinforced 

to take more traffic and heavier cargo, 

which is underpinned by its transhipment 

role in the export of paper and board from 

Sweden and Finland. 

A new ro-ro linkspan will be delivered 

on Friday October 21, and will be 

fitted to an existing, but modified, concrete 

ramp to add flexibility in terms of 

ramp height and ramp angles. 

The new linkspan will serve the common 

user berth 702 on the east side of 

the Älvsborg ro-ro terminal and will initially 

be used primarily as a resource for 

intermodal paper-load transhipment. 

Charleston’s equipment spree 

In order to handle growth over the next 

five years, the South Carolina State Ports 

Authority (SCSPA) Board has approved 

seven contracts totalling US$63.7 mill 

for new equipment and terminal improvements 

at the Port of Charleston. 

They cover four new superpost- 

Panamax container cranes from ZPMC 

(US$33.155 mill), engineering services 

related to the new cranes from GBB, 

Inc (US$718,000), 16 new 1 over 5 

RTGs from KCI Konecranes 

(US$25.84 mill), and a new electrical 

substation for cranes from SCE&G 

(US$1.36 mill). This will bring to 41 

the number of Konecranes’ RTG-16s at 

Charleston and the earliest 1 over 4s have 

been raised to 1 over 5. 

The Wando Welch Terminal and 

North Charleston Terminal will each receive 

two new cranes, which are expected 

by early 2007. Also approved were engineering, 

quality assurance and electrical 

services associated with construction and 

installation of the new cranes. 

Various upgrades will also be made to 

container handling equipment. In particular, 

13 full container handlers will be converted 

to 4-high stacking, while two full 

container handlers, two empty container 

handlers and two lift trucks for vertical 

chassis storage (ie fitted with chassis rotators) 

will be acquired (Gregory Poole - 

US$2.62 mill). 

All of the planned work and equipment 

will be funded internally by the 

ports authority’s earnings and from the 

proceeds of revenue bonds and not 

through tax dollars. 

“These projects will give us new capacity 

and serve as the bridge to port expansion 

on the former Charleston Naval 

Complex,” said Bernard S.Groseclose Jr, 

president and Chief Execitive Officer of 

the ports authority. 


news 

Charleston expects permits for a 

new 3-berth, 288-acre container terminal 

to be received by August 

2006. Completion of Phase I is expected 

by 2011. “[This] action shows 

we’re committed to a strategic expansion 

of the Port of Charleston’s container 

handling capabilities,” said 

Groseclose, who has been chosen as the 

new chairman of the AAPA’s board of 

directors for 2006. “Our customers are 

ready to grow, and we’re ready to serve 

them.” 

Charleston’s container volume rose 

14 per cent in the fiscal year that ended 

June 30, reaching an all-time record of 

1.97 mill TEU. This is more than double 

the volume the port handled just 

10 years ago in fiscal 1995. 

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TOC Americas 2005 

Savannah 

October 2005 11


news 

Lyttelton advances inland 

Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) has become 

the latest New Zealand port to invest 

in an inland freight distribution business 

after entering into a conditional 

agreement to purchase NZ Express Transport 

Limited (NZE). This company operates 

a depot services and distribution 

business from a 9.5 hectare site at 

Woolston, just 6 km from the Lyttelton 

Container Terminal (LCT) and connected 

by road and rail links. 

The NZE site provides the port with 

valuable extra land for LCT, which occupies 

just 8.5 hectares and is under pressure 

after volume grew 10 per cent in the 

12 

year to July to reach 177,000 TEU. LCT’s 

CEO Peter Davie said the additional land 

“provides us with substantial close proximity 

wharf capacity, with the ability to 

optimise container movements, both on 

and off wharf.” 

He would not comment on any plans 

for a rail shuttle between Woolston and 

Lyttelton but this would be a difficult 

expense to justify for a rail journey of 

just 6 km. 

Davie said the purchase was driven by 

twin opportunities to expand land holdings 

and expand vertically into the supply 

chain. NZE offers depot services such 

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as container repair and washing but it is 

mainly a transport business, operating 30 

trucks and 45 chassis. 

At this stage LPC does not need to 

add further container handling equipment 

at Woolston but it is considering 

how to link the site to its existing Navis 

SPARCS software. LPC will be one of 

the first terminals to move to the new 

Navis platform, N4, early next year and 

it is likely this issue will be addressed at 

that time. 

The Port of Lyttelton wants to move further 

up the value chain 

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PORT NEWS 

Apapa deal 

sealed... 

APM Terminals (APMT) has finally put 

pen to paper on its 25 year contract to 

operate the container terminal at the port 

of Apapa in Nigeria. The concession was 

awarded several months ago but ran into 

a storm of controversy (see WorldCargo 

News March 2005, p23). 

APMT will trade in Nigeria as APM 

Terminals Apapa Ltd. A key element of 

the company’s bid was its pledge to combine 

local knowledge with international 

expertise. The government hopes that the 

role of Apapa, one of the Lagos ports, can 

be expanded significantly over the next 

few years. 

APMT chief executive, Kim Fejfer, 

commented, “We have been very satisfied 

with the port privatisation process in 

Nigeria and we commend the Bureau of 

Public Enterprises (BPE), the Federal 

Ministry of Transport and the Nigerian 

Port Authority for their professionalism 

and the transparency of the process.” 

As part of its tender, APMT is committed 

to employing and training a high 

percentage of Nigerian staff. “We have an 

ongoing commitment to the development 

of staff wherever we operate. Our 

business plan includes focus on the continued 

training and development of our 

staff to facilitate the development and 

operation of Apapa Container Terminal 

to world class standards,” Fejfer said. 

APMT plans to invest in the yard area, 

in new ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 

other handling equipment. 

...operators 

announced 

Following the completion of APMT’s 

contract to manage Apapa Container Terminal, 

the results of the tenders for the 

other two main Lagos facilities - Tin Can 

Island and the ro-ro terminal - have been 

unveiled. Bids closed on 8 July this year 

and the comparison of financial bids had 

to wait for the assessment of technical bids. 

Comet Shipping Agencies Nigeria 

Ltd was the only party to bid to manage 

the ro-ro terminal, with an offer of 

US$125 mill over the 15 years of the 

contract. The three Tin Can terminals A, 

B and C, went to Joseph Dam and Sons, 

Tin Can Island Container Terminal Ltd 

and Sifax Nigeria Ltd respectively, with 

bids of US$14.6 mill, US$83.2 mill and 

US$104.4 mill. Tin Can Island Container 

Terminal Ltd, which comprises Bolloré 

and Gold Star Lines, is expected to boost 

container handling capacity to over 

70,000 TEU/year. 

A P Møller submitted the highest bid 

of US$9.6 mill for a 10- year contract to 

manage the Lily Pond inland container 

depot, although some reports within Nigeria 

indicate that the award of the Lily 

Pond concession may be postponed by 

the Bureau of Public Enterprises. 

The Nigerian Minister of Transport, 

Abiye Sekibo, commended A P Møller’s 

high standards and said that he hoped 

the company would be able to encourage 

greater efficiency throughout the Nigerian 

port sector. 

October 2005

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news 

Suape ambition on course 

Suape Container Terminal (SCT) 

in Pernambuco, north east Brazil, 

is progressing with its aim of 

achieving hub status with the acquisition 

of new container handling 

equipment and the completion 

of more infrastructure improvements. 

International Container Terminal 

Services Inc. (ICTSI) subsidiary 

Tecon Suape SA (TSSA), 

which operates SCT, has invested 

some US$17 mill in two new 

post-Panamax quay cranes and 

two RTGs manufactured by 

ZPMC and the construction of a 

30,000 m 2 storage area. Around 

US$65 mill has now been invested 

in the facility since 2001 when 

TSSA took over operations. 

“We are commissioning new 

container handling equipment at 

SCT to better accommodate the 

surging volumes in the terminal. 

Our export boxes were up to 20 

per cent in August compared to 

the same month of last year,” said 

ICTSI chairman and president 

Enrique . Razon Jr. “Before the 

end of the year, we are expecting 

14 

SCT’s two new post-Panamax quay cranes and two RTGs. delivered by ZPMC, 

will be operational in the middle of next month 

to handle 185,000 TEU, a 35 per 

cent increase from 2004.” 

Sergio Kano, TSSA chief operating 

officer, added, “We are preparing 

SCT to be the next hub 

port not only in Brazil, but in the 

South Atlantic. The terminal is fast 

becoming a hub for the region’s 

Handling is our business. 

European-Latin American trade.” 

With the new equipment, 

which will be operational in mid- 

November, SCT’s container handling 

equipment fleet now totals 

four ship-to-shore cranes and four 

RTGs. Annual handling capacity 

will rise to 500,000 TEU. 

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Containers pile 

up in Mombasa 

The Kenyan port of Mombasa has 

again been hit by serious delays. 

The port has the capacity to hold 

about 6000 containers but is now 

struggling to cope with over 7000 

and containers are reported to be 

piling up on the dockside. 

Rapidly rising demand is at the 

heart of the problem but the 

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has 

blamed the situation on a lack of 

freight capacity on the Kenya 

Railways Corporation (KRC) line 

from the port to Nairobi and on 

to Kampala in Uganda. 

In the past, many containers 

have been transported to Nairobi 

by road in similar circumstances, 

but the road haulage sector is also 

unable to cope with rising demand. 

The introduction of Mombasa’s 

much vaunted electronic 

documentation system does not 

yet appear to have solved the 

port’s problems and the Kenyan 

authorities seem to be pinning 

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their hopes of a long term solution 

on the planned private sector 

takeover of the railway. 

Even if the tender process is 

successful, however, any substantive 

improvements in rail freight 

delivery will probably take years 

rather than months to filter 

through. 

Logistics and shipping companies 

that fail to move empty containers 

from the dockside have also 

attracted some criticism. KPA 

managing director Brown 

Ondego, said, “All government 

agencies at the port are holding 

consultations to address the issue 

of off-take of containers and one 

option we are looking at is transferring 

customs clearance services 

to off dock facilities.” 

A similar problem in Nigeria 

has resulted in the imposition of 

fines by the Ministry of transport. 

Companies failing to remove 

empty containers will be charged 

US$200 per container per day. 

● Mombasa’s stranglehold on the 

Kenyan and Ugandan markets 

could be broken within the next 

few years. The government and 

the KPA are examining the options 

for the construction of a second 

major port in Kenya at either 

Lamu or Shimoni. Lamu is seen 

as the most likely option. 

PORT NEWS 

Fruit deals 

in Antwerp 

Netherlands-based reefer operator 

Kloosterboer has sold on its Antwerp 

fruit handling operations to 

Sea-Invest within days of buying 

them from PSA-HNN. Sea-Invest 

controls Belgian New Fruit Wharf 

(BNFW) and will integrate the 

former PSA-HNN facility in the 

Hansadok with the adjacent 

BNFW installations in the 

Leopolddok to form one terminal 

with a quay length of 1800m 

and a surface area of 50 hectares. 

The fruit terminal at the Sixth 

Havendok acquired by Kloosterboer 

from PSA-HNN has also 

been sold onto Sea-Invest. 

Kloosterboer, which recently 

sold some of its Dutch cold stores 

to Samskip (see WorldCargo News 

April 2005, p17), reportedly paid 

€20-25 mill for the PSA-HNN 

facilities but the on-sale price to 

Sea-Invest is not known. 

Fruit handling was not considered 

“core business” by PSA, 

but even under PSA’s control 

HNN tried to win a large 

Chiquita contract from BNFW. 

Not only did this move fail, but 

BNFW countered by winning a 

major Dole contract from HNN 

with effect from next year. 

Both PSA-HNN terminals 

were operated by Noord Natie, 

which merged with Hessenatie to 

form HNN before the group was 

acquired by PSA. 

A Paceco Portainer was recently moved overland by Ports of Auckland Ltd 

from the Axis Fergusson container terminal to Axis Bledisloe, a distance of 

2.1 km. Two 180-wheeled trailers and 500 hp tractors moved the 615 

tonne crane over a 10-day period 

�� 

October 2005

PORT NEWS 

Yangtze port stake for Macquarie 

Singapore-listed Macquarie International 

Infrastructure Fund (MIIF) is paying up 

to Yuan753 mill (US$93 mill) for a 38 

per cent stake in Changshu Xinghua Port 

(CXP), a multi-purpose facility on the 

Yangtze River. 

MIIF will take the stake by acquiring 

40 per cent of Singapore Changshu Development 

Company (SCDC), which developed 

the port, 90 km west of Shanghai 

in China’s Jiangsu province, and has a 

95 per cent interest in it. 

Singapore-listed shipping group Pan- 

United Corp has an 80 per cent 

shareholding in SCDC, with Petroships 

Investment of Singapore and Singapore- 

Batam hub 

port plan 

The Indonesian government plans to develop 

Batam island, now a free trade zone, 

into an integrated sea and air cargo hub 

offering the same international standards 

as neighbouring Singapore. 

“The government is considering 

whether to develop Batam into a free port 

that will compete head-to-head with Singapore, 

or whether it will complement the 

city-state’s port,” Coordinating Minister for 

the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said. 

To this end, the government has formed 

an advisory panel, which includes Trade 

Minister Mari E Pangestu, Transport Minister 

Hatta Radjasa, Industry Minister 

Andung Nitimihardja and Public Works 

Minister Djoko Kirmanto. The panel will 

hold its first meeting this month. 

Located some 20 km from Singapore, 

Batam has become one of the most attractive 

manufacturing locations in South 

East Asia, hosting some 600 foreign companies 

and absorbing over US$3 bill in 

foreign investment. Hatta said the government 

had registered Batam’s Nipah Island 

with the International Maritime Organisation 

as a transit port for ships to take 

on food, water and other supplies before 

entering Singapore waters. 

Aburizal said the government would 

also encourage cargo handling operations 

at Batam’s Hang Nadim International 

Airport. “The airport has potential for 

such an industry, as it has the best facilities 

in the country as well as the longest 

runway,” he said. 

Mari said the Batam Free Trade Zone 

(FTZ) would be extended to include 

Rempang and Galang islands. The government 

has also upgraded the status of 

the Batam Industrial Bonded Zone, 

Bintan Industrial Estate and Karimun 

Industrial Estate. 

Nacala not 

for Tertir 

Dear Sir, 

I have been for many years a reader of 

WorldCargo News and I usually find the 

information given is valuable, in spite 

of being sometimes inaccurate or incorrect. 

This is what happened in the 

article published on page 14 of the 

July 2005 issue, under the title “Nacala 

under fire.” 

Actually, the SDCN consortium 

responsible for the port and rail operation 

of the Nacala Corridor includes 

neither Tertir of Portugal nor 

Rennies of South Africa. 

Please note that Tertir withdrew 

three years ago, long before the concession 

was taken over, due to our lack 

of confidence in the capacity of RDC 

to run the Nacala railway properly. 

Unfortunately for Mozambique, the 

present situation confirms that our 

doubts were grounded. 


Claude Bouyssière 

Member of Tertir Board 

Lisbon, Portugal 

Suzhou Township Development (SSTD) 

holding the remainder.. 

Pan-United will sell 26 per cent of its 

shareholding in SCDC, reducing its effective 

equity stake in CXP from 72 per 

cent to 51.3 per cent, SSTD 10 per cent 

and Petroships 4 per cent. 

MIIF will pay Yuan537 mill up front 

for the port, with the remainder to be 

paid over the next three years, subject to 

meeting certain performance targets. 

A third phase expansion of CXP will 

be completed by the end of the year, increasing 

the number of berths to eight 

and raising annual cargo handling capacity 

from 5 mill to 10 mill tons. 

The port, which became operational 

in 1997, was ranked No 7 river port in 

China by volume last year. Apart from 

bulk and conventional cargo, CXP handles 

about 100,000 TEU of containers a 

year. 

“CXP is a high quality port with a 

deep natural draft and is the furthest point 

upstream from Shanghai able to efficiently 

accommodate larger vessels,” said MIIF 

managing director Gregory Osborne. 

Pan-United chief executive Patrick 

Ng said the group would also focus on 

developing terminals for cement and soya 

bean imports and ocean-to-river transhipment 

business. 

A US$35 mill international container 

terminal, with a capacity for 30-35,000 

TEU/year, is due to commence operations 

shortly at Russia’s Port of Azov 

(MSPA). 

The small facility has an area of 5hectares 

with a container yard able to 

store up to 2000 TEU and the single 

berth is 280m long. It has been built 

and equipped by its major shareholder, 

ZAO-S, a privately-owned building 

materials manufacturer based in Moscow, 

which owns 41 per cent of MSPA. 

The Russian Federal Property Ministry 

is the other large shareholder, with 

a 25.5 per cent stake. 


news 

New Azov box terminal 

ZAO-S director general Adrian 

Sinebok believes that the new terminal 

will release the market’s demand for a 

network of regular container services 

connecting Russia’s south with other 

Black Sea ports in Ukraine, Moldova, 

Bulgaria and along the Danube delta. 

The Russian part of the Sea of Azov 

currently has two ports handling container 

traffic. Taganrog caters for the automotive 

component import requirements 

of the local motor works, while 

a regular service links Yeysk with Ravenna 

in Italy. However, these facilities 

are limited and most containers have to 

be trucked in, which is expensive. 

October 2005 15


news 

New terminal for Vlissingen 

Although the development of the Westerschelde 

Container Terminal (WCT) at 

Zeeland Ports (ZP)’s Port of Vlissingen has 

stalled, a new container/multi-purpose terminal 

is to be constructed at the port.The 

project is a joint venture of Sea-Invest (70 

per cent) and Zuidnatie and represents both 

parties’ first stevedoring operation in the 

Netherlands and Zuidnatie’s first outside 

Antwerp. It is also Sea-Invest’s largest container 

handling commitment to to date. 

Planned start up is late 2007/early 2008. 

As the site in the Scaldia Haven is designated 

for terminal development and related 

activities, no full planning approval is required, 

unlike WCT. The terminal will have 

16 

a 900m quay, with a minimum water depth 

alongside of 14m, along with a 250m transversal 

quay. The main quay will be fitted 

with rails to support initially at least two 

and perhaps three Panamax gantry cranes, 

possibly sourced second-hand, which will 

be backed by high capacity harbour mobile 

cranes able to work both quays. 

The quay walls will be developed by 

ZP and the joint venture is responsible for 

paving the CY and other storage areas on 

the 53 hectare site. Yard handling systems 

have not yet been decided, although reach 

stackers would provide a flexible first stage. 

The facility will also be able to handle general 

and project cargo and provide ancil- 

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lary sevices such as CFS, consolidation, 

container repair, etc. 

The terminal will have rail and inland 

waterway links, while the local road network 

is relatively uncongested and the new 

Westerschelde tunnel provides easy access 

to Antwerp. With PSA-HNN increasingly 

focused on containers, there may be an opportunity 

to attract operators employing 

multi-purpose tonnage who may not now 

be receiving the same level of service as 

they did from HNN. The terminal is tidal 

and the shorter sailing time compared to 

Antwerp and negotiating the locks there 

offsets the extra distance from the Antwerp 

market. 

UK-based Drewry Shipping Consultants 

Ltd has released its latest port sector report, 

Annual Review of Global Container 

Terminal Operators 2005, which highlights 

the increasingly powerful position that 

global box terminal operators enjoy. 

Aided by strong growth in global container 

trade, driven to a large extent by 

the booming export-orientated economies 

of China and India, 2004 was a banner 

year for the global terminal operator 

community, the report says. According to 

Drewry, this group handled over 234 mill 

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PORT NEWS 

Global box operators 

continue to dominate 

TEU last year, which was more than 24 

per cent up on 2003 levels. 

This means that almost 60 per cent of 

global container throughput is now handled 

by a relatively small group of companies 

that have terminal facilities in more 

than one geographical region. 

The report notes that the four leading 

global terminal operators - Hutchison 

Port Holdings (HPH), PSA International, 

APM Terminals (APMT) and P&O Ports 

- between them handled around 135 mill 

TEU in 2004. As a result, these companies 

handled more than a third of global 

container terminal throughput. 

HPH upped its market share with an 

increase of around 15 per cent in global 

volumes to 47.8 mill TEU, and topped 

the league table in 2004 ahead of PSA. 

The Singapore-based operator also 

achieved a growth rate of around 15 per 

cent and handled 33.1 mill TEU in 2004. 

Drewry forecasts, however, that PSA 

will be overtaken in second position during 

2005 by APMT, whose global 

throughput surged by around 49 per cent, 

to 31.9 mill TEU in 2004. Following its 

success in securing further concessions 

this year, another year of significant 

growth is certain in 2005, the report says. 

P&O Ports lost ground to APMT last 

year but still achieved a growth rate in 

throughput terms of around 37 per cent. 

There are some emerging challengers 

to the global terminal quartet, the report 

notes. In particular, Cosco, and its Cosco 

Pacific affiliate, which was ranked fifth in 

2004, is rapidly gaining ground. Cosco 

terminals handled 13.3 mill TEU in 2004, 

80 per cent up on the year before. As a 

result of this dynamic growth, Drewry is 

predicting that the Chinese group will 

become the fourth largest global operator 

within the next few years. 

Drewry also highlights the rapid rise 

of another global terminal operator. Dubai 

Ports Authority and its Dubai Ports International 

arm (now consolidated under 

the DP World banner), has diversified 

the scope of its operations away from a 

heavy dependence on its home port operations 

through the acquisition of CSX 

World Terminals, which has given it a 

stake in terminals in the Far East, Australia, 

Germany, the Caribbean and South 

America. In addition, DP World has 

proved successful in acquiring terminal 

opportunities in the fast-growing markets 

of India and Eastern Europe. 

Another of the rising stars of the global 

terminal operating community is 

Mediterranean Shipping Company 

(MSC). The Geneva-based carrier is supporting 

its deepsea container shipping 

business by making strategic investments 

in container terminals in Northern Europe 

and the Mediterranean,and is ranked 

10th in 2004, having risen from 17th place 

in the global terminal operators league 

table in 2002 and 12th in 2003. 

MSC is not alone amongst the major 

shipping lines in looking to expand its 

container terminal operations. Indeed, 

Drewry’s analysis of confirmed investment 

plans shows that a significantly larger proportion 

of global container terminal capacity 

will be held by carrier-based terminal 

operators by 2010. MSC will increase 

its terminal capacity by an average 

of 15 per cent annually between 2004 and 

2010, Drewry suggests, while there will 

also be strong growth for Hanjin and 

CMA CGM within the container terminal 

sector, as well as by Cosco. 

While the ranking of the major global 

terminal operators is subject to change, 

Drewry suggests there is limited scope for 

new entrants to force their way into this 

global terminal operators “club.” China 

Merchants and China Shipping are, however, 

identified as being two companies 

with the capability to become genuine 

global terminal operators over the coming 

years. 

The report is available from: Neil 

Davidson, Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. 

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7538 0191. E-mail: 

davidson@drewry.co.uk. Individual copies are 

priced at £1195 (print and PDF) or £950 

(PDF only). 

October 2005

PORT NEWS 

Construction deal 

for DCT Gdansk... 

DCT Gdansk SA and Hochtief Construction 

AG Infrastructure Polska have announced 

the start of the main contract to 

build the new deepsea container terminal 

at Gdansk. Already several months have 

been spent clearing the site of various 

World War II explosives and bunkers. 

Hochtief Polska will execute the €190 

mill construction project in collaboration 

with Hochtief NL Civil Engineering and 

Marine Works, Hochtief group’s worldwide 

competence centre for marine infrastructure 

projects. 

According to James Sutcliffe, CEO of 

the UK-based DCT Gdansk consortium, 

the terminal will be ready in May 2007 

and “will be able to service international 

container shipping and international trade 

on a level that has not been possible before 

in Poland. The fully independent terminal 

will provide world class facilities to 

some of the largest container shipping 

lines, with the firm objective of being the 

main hub for the Baltic.” 

DCT Gdansk is touted as becoming 

the largest ice-free, independent container 

...don’t forget 

Swinoujscie 

Dear Sir, 

We read with interest your brief article 

“Polish promise” in the August 2005 

issue of WorldCargo News (p20). As a 

supplement we would like to present 

information about our container terminal 

in the Port of Swinoujscie, which 

was not mentioned, although you previously 

reported it in WorldCargo News 

in December 2003 (p7). 

The VGN Polska Terminal is the 

only working deepwater container 

terminal in the South Baltic. The 

330m long quay has a maximum allowable 

draft of 13m, which will be 

increased to 13.2m by end of this year. 

The terminal is equipped with a 45 

tonne Kocks Panamax gantry crane, a 

Voest Alpine gantry crane, two 

Reggiane RTGs, two Kalmar and two 

Hyco Boss reach stackers, terminal 

tractors from Terberg and Sisu and 

trailers from Planmarine. 

Considering the hundred millions 

of dollars investment plans of DCT in 

Gdansk, we would like to point out that 

our deepwater terminal is already a fact. 

The geographical and nautical location 

as a first or last deepwater terminal in 

the Baltic makes it the ideal point for a 

hub for 3500-4000 TEU ships. With 

relatively small investment (lengthening 

the quay by 85m, installing another 

Panamax crane by the end of 2006) the 

terminal offers many possibilities. 

From March of this year VGN has 

been connected with Hamburg and 

Bremerhaven by regular, weekly calls 

from feeder line Baltic Container Line. 

In the first seven months of the year 

the terminal handled 2200 TEU, 

mainly exports, providing not only 

typical terminal services but also a full 

scope of container logistics (bookings, 

precarriage, customs brokerage). 

As of August the terminal has been 

connected to the hinterland by the 

first private container shuttle train in 

Poland, which delivers containers from 

Brzeg Dolny rail terminal, near 

Wroclaw, twice a week. This inland 

rail terminal was jointly opened by 

VGN and PCC Rail Container. 

The VGN terminal offers access to 

the river and canal systems of Central 

Europe, via the Oder, an excellent train 

connection to the Silesia region and 

good nautical location near the main 

shipping routes of the Baltic Sea. 


Marcin Czachorowski 

VGN Polska Ltd 

Swinoujscie, Poland 

port in the southern Baltic, with Phase 1 

able to handle 500,000 TEU/year as well 

as ro-ro traffic. Sutcliffe and a handful of 

others began work on the project five years 

ago and formed DCT Gdansk SA in 2003. 

DCT Gdansk has confirmed last 

month’s WorldCargo News report (p1) that 

it is in discussion with Liebherr regarding 

three ship-to-shore container cranes. 

It adds that the CY will be an RTG operation 

from Day 1. 

’ 

Machines may include special equipment 

Sinotrans Container Line’s JIN DA 

recently called at Shantou International 

Container Terminals (SICT) to 

inaugurate a new weekly service linking 

Shantou with Xiamen and Manila. 

“Following the launch of a Shantou- 

Korea service early this year, the 

Shantou-Manila service is SICT’s third 

intra-Asia service. We will continue to 

develop more direct services to Shantou 

in future,” said SICT general manager 

David Wu. SICT is a joint venture 

between Hutchison Delta Ports (HDP) 

and the Shantou Port Authority and 

was the first dedicated container terminal 

in Shantou in south China’s 

Guangdong Province having started 

operations in 1997. It forms part of the 

HDP network, which currently 

comprises three coastal and three river 

ports in southern China 

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news 

The Power to 

Move More 

October 2005 17


news 

APS bags APMT 

tracking contract 

APS Technology Group (APS) 

has been awarded a contract by 

APM Terminals (APMT) to provide 

a rail equipment tracking 

system for the Pier 400 container 

facility in Los Angeles. 

The solution will include 

two of APS’s latest products, Rail 

OCR Portal and RailTrack, 

which will provide the terminal 

the capacity to identify automatically 

containers on railcars 

and track their exact GPS location 

as they are parked on one 

of the 12 on-dock rail tracks. 

“The Pier 400 facility led the 

industry in using APS’s OCR 

technology to automate gate operations 

over three years ago,” 

noted APS’s director of business 

development Hal Warfield. “They 

are now focusing the same attention 

on automating their rail operations 

by leveraging proven 

technology from APS.” 

18 

The installation will include 

two double-stack capable Rail 

OCR Portals that will capture 

and identify the railcars (via 

AEI) and containers (via OCR). 

The RailTrack portion of the 

solution will utilise APS’s patent-pending, 

vision-based 

tracking software with 15 

CCTV camera arrays installed 

on light poles adjacent to the 

on-dock rail area. 

These camera arrays interface 

with RailTrack software 

that identifies and follows moving 

objects below, continually 

updating the Navis terminal 

operating system with the location 

of the train cars. The combination 

of RailTrack and the 

two OCR Portals allow “virtual 

trains” to be assembled and 

tracked providing a completely 

automated real-time rail system 

inventory, says APS. 

Three scenarios for 

Johor Port-MMC deal 

Speculation that Malaysia’s Johor 

Port (JP) may be privatised or acquired 

by Malaysia Mining Corp 

(MMC) has resurfaced, prompting 

some analysts to theorise that 

the move now makes sense. 

MMC, which has a 50.1 per 

cent stake in the Malaysian Port 

of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), is 40 per 

cent owned by tycoon Syed 

Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. 

In a report, OSK Research 

manager Chris Eng has suggested 

three hypothetical scenarios. 

In the first scenario, JP is taken 

private by Seaport Terminal 

(Johor), which has a 51.74 per cent 

stake in the port. In the second, 

MMC makes a cash offer, and in 

the third MMC offers a share swap 

for Seaport Terminal’s stake in JP. 

“In terms of the offer price for 

JP shares, we are assuming M$2.50 

(US$0.64) based on the company’s 

net tangible assets,” he said. 

Eng believes that in all three 

scenarios, it makes economic sense 

for Seaport Terminal to take JP 

private, or for MMC to acquire 

either Seaport Terminal’s stake or 

to take 100 per cent of JP (in the 

event that a waiver for a general 

offer is not granted). 

“As such, a privatisation or acquisition 

of JP could indeed be on 

the cards,” he said, adding that the 

most beneficial option for JP 

shareholders would be a cash offer 

of M$2.50 per share. 

Eng said that during a recent 

meeting with JP managers, he 

noted that they no longer maintain 

the stance that there are minimal 

synergies between JP and PTP, 

and that JP operations should be 

kept separate. “We believe this 

change of stance is a signal for 

greater cooperation in the future, 

whether or not any corporate exercise 

takes place,” he said. 

Malaysia’s third largest port, JP 

handled 413,330 TEU in the first 

half of this year, up 5 per cent over 

the same period last year, indicating 

the full-year figure will be just 

short of the 1 mill TEU mark. 

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PORT/INLAND/INTERMODAL NEWS 

Last month Impsa Port Systems handed over for commercial operations the 

first of three ship-to-shore gantry cranes ordered by South African Port 

Operations (SAPO) for Durban Container Terminal. The main structures 

of the crane and the drive systems were manufactured in South Africa and 

assembled and erected in the area allocated by SAPO close to the terminal. 

The 45m outreach (16-across) cranes have an SWL of 40 tons for container 

handling and 65 tons under heavy lift beam and are fitted with a crane 

management system incorporating the latest technology 

Competition takes 

toll on Shanghai 

Shanghai Port Container (SPC), 

the listed subsidiary of Shanghai 

International Port Group (SIPG), 

has posted disappointing thirdquarter 

results, indicating that 

competition between Chinese 

port operators is getting tougher. 

SPC’s profit for the three 

months ended September rose just 

2 per cent year on year to Yuan329 

mill (US$40.5 mill), compared 

with a 20 per cent growth for the 

same period of last year, although 

revenues increased 14 per cent to 

Yuan11.6 bill. 

The company said its bottom 

line was dented by a massive increase 

in finance costs, which rose 

A total of 900 employees, or 28 

per cent of the current workforce, 

will have left Eurotunnel by June 

next year. They will all be voluntary 

redundancies, says the company, 

and are split roughly evenly 

between the UK and France., 

The retrenchment is part of 

Eurotunnel’s new business model 

designed to align transport capacity 

more closely to fluctuations in 

demand. “We need a company 

The Australian Department of 

Defence (DoD) has announced 

that a commercial contractor will 

soon be employed to assist with 

planning logistics for military operations 

to improve reaction time 

and efficiency. 

Defence Minister Robert Hill 

said an invitation to register had 

been advertised seeking a commercial 

planning partner to provide 

commercial expertise and advice 

on capabilities covering a 

range of contingencies. 

A range of DoD domestic logistics 

tasks is already undertaken 

by the specialist joint venture 

Tenix Toll, which manages and 

operates 23 sites, 250 facilities and 

860 staff located in every Australian 

state and territory 

Hill said employing a commercial 

contractor for specific 

operations would enable the DoD 

to respond rapidly in engaging 

contractors leading to efficiency 

improvements. “Defence plans to 

expand the use of contractors in 

operations and a commercial planning 

partner will help to develop 

135.4 per cent to Yuan77 mill in 

the quarter. Profit for the first nine 

months rose 9 per cent to 

Yuan966.9 mill on the back of a 

13 per cent increase in revenues. 

Despite three typhoons, 

throughput at Shanghai in September 

rose 19.2 per cent year on 

year to 1.56 mill TEU, pushing the 

nine-month total to 13.33 mill 

TEU, up around 26 per cent over 

the same period of last year. 

SIPG has asked container lines 

to shift their European services to 

Shanghai’s new deepwater port at 

Yangshan islands, the five-berth 

Phase I of which will become 

operational next month. 

Eurotunnel job axe 

that is more flexible, more reactive 

to our markets, and more in 

tune with the needs of our clients,” 

said chairman and CEO 

Jacques Gounon. 

The troubled Ango-French 

company is at a crucial stage of 

talks with creditors regarding the 

rescheduling of €9 bill of debts 

and is seeking a two year suspension 

of payments from January 

next year. 

Oz military goes 

commercial 

options with a better understanding 

of private sector capabilities,” 

he said. 

“Defence has learned a great 

deal about logistic needs from Operation 

ANODE in the Solomon 

Islands and Operation SUMATRA 

ASSIST in Indonesia. 

“Our ADF personnel have already 

proved their effectiveness in 

providing urgent assistance to communities 

responding to natural disasters 

such as the tsunami and to 

security incidents such as the Bali 

bombing in October 2002. This 

proposal will provide an even better 

capacity to respond to operational 

and humanitarian tasks. 

“Timely commercial advice can 

greatly assist the ADF in rapidly 

reacting to situations such as urgent 

humanitarian or disaster relief. We 

therefore need to keep all options 

open in finding the most responsive 

support solution,” Hill said. 

The engagement of a planning 

partner for operations is consistent 

with arrangements being applied 

in the United States, the 

United Kingdom and Canada. 

October 2005

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Twin 40’ Quayside Container Crane 

The twin 40’ quayside container crane is ZPMC’s newest design, offering fast loading and unloading to meet 

the demands of macro-scale vessels. The new crane can boost productivity by 50%. The Port of Dubai 

ordered 4 twin 40’ quayside container cranes and Shanghai Wai Gaoqiao Terminal ordered one from ZPMC. 

Now those cranes are all in operation. This year the Port of Dubai ordered another five twin 40 quayside 

container cranes from us. 

There are two independent hoisting system sets, connected by the upper sheave of the trolley and two 

standard detachable telescopic spreaders. The spreader headblocks can change their relative positions 

(separating, folding and V’shape) via oil cylinders to hoist two 40 containers. 

The crane does not simply unite two sets of hoisting machinery. One of its significant features is the special 

differential hoisting gear reducer. The reducer may dissociate and superimpose power - that is, it can 

distribute the output power of the two motors to the two spreaders, as well as direct all the power to one 

spreader. Thus, the crane can offer high speed and high efficiency while using one spreader. 

Its two-hoist system can handle two 40ft containers or four 20ft containers. The single-hoist system can 

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news 

Pau-Zaragossa rail freight? 

There is growing popular support 

on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees 

for reopening the Pau- 

Zaragossa rail link, which crosses 

the border in a tunnel near 

Canfranc. The number of truck 

trips on the nearby trunk road has 

risen to 8000/day and there is 

mounting concern for the local 

environment as the number of 

lorries crossing the Pyrenees 

grows. 

Various official studies have estimated 

the cost of rehabilitation 

20 

at around €330 mill and even a 

lower official estimate of €220 mill 

was deemed too expensive to be 

cost-effective by RFF, the French 

rail track authority. 

However, two local associations, 

Creloc in France and Crefco 

in Spain, have commissioned an 

independent study from French 

rail consultant Robert Claraco and 

his conclusions, released in October, 

are somewhat different. 

Claraco estimates that the line 

could be made serviceable for just 

+ = 

€100 mill, although the gross tonnage 

of train sets would have to 

be limited to 300 tonnes. The relevant 

regional authorities have 

indicated their willingness to proceed 

on this basis, but whether 

RFF can be convinced remains 

to be seen. 

Claraco forecasts that freight 

traffic could initially be around 

250,000 tonnes/year and rise in 

time to 2 mill tonnes/year. Revenue 

from passenger trains would 

also be factored into the equation. 

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Kursiu Linija has become the latest operator to opt for Container Leasing 

(UK)’s 45ft palletwide high cube curtainside container design for its European 

short sea operations. The Lithuanian operator has taken delivery of 100 units 

built by CIMC at its dry freight specials plant in Nantong for service on its 

routes linking Eastern and Western Europe. The 13.71m long x 2.55m wide 

x 2.89m high units feature a patented cantilevered intermediate casting/offset 

intermediate post arrangement, which provides a clear 12.61m side opening 

on both sides of the unit, but still allows it to be lifted and stacked at the ISO 

40ft position. Pallet stowage capabilities are identical to those of a 13.6m swap 

body or trailer. “Kursiu Linija is moving over 120,000 TEU annually for 

major shippers, linking low-cost Eastern European suppliers with retail chains 

in Western Europe,” said Arijus Ramonas, managing director of Kursiu Linija. 

“These curtainside containers allow retail shippers to ship goods in units which 

match a full standard trailer size, cutting down handling and reducing costs for 

the customer.” Kursiu Linija recently set up its own customer service offices in 

Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg and invested in a single integrated IT 

system across all of its offices 

Two more shuttles 

for Göteborg 

Two more container rail shuttle 

connections to and from the 

Swedish Port of Göteborg were 

due to be launched at the beginning 

of this month. 

The new shuttles connect 

dockside rail facilities at Port of 

Göteborg to Örebro and Västerås. 

Named Örebroexpressen and 

Mälarpendeln, respectively, they 

link the port with important mid- 

Swedish production and consumption 

regions. 

Both services, which are operated 

by Tågfrakt, will operate 

five days a week in each direction. 

Meanwhile, the Swedish Rail 

Administration has appointed the 

contractor for a key component in 

the “Triangle Track” project, which 

The latest Australian Federal Government 

study into an inland rail 

link between Melbourne and 

Brisbane appears to signal a new 

determination to press ahead with 

the project. 

Minister for Transport and Re- 

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will provide a rail short-cut to the 

Port of Göteborg trunk railway. 

Work is scheduled to begin soon. 

The new track, to be ready for 

commissioning by August, 2007, 

will allow trains arriving at 

Göteborg from the north to go 

directly to the west along the port 

trunk railroad. Currently, those 

trains have to go two miles to the 

east to change direction and locomotive 

position before going 

west to the port terminals. The 

project comprises 1200m of new 

track, 550m of which willl form a 

bridge over land areas. 

Port traffic via the Norway/ 

Lake Väner railroad will save 35 

minutes per passage when the Triangle 

Track is completed. 

Inland rail study - again 

gional Services, Warren Truss, announced 

that Ernst & Young had 

been selected to manage the latest 

evaluation, labelled North-South 

Rail Corridor Study, which will 

comprehensively examine future 

freight demand and capacity, and 

options for the vital Melbourne- 

Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor. 

“Ernst & Young was selected 

by the Department of Transport 

and Regional Services after an 

open tender process. The company 

is required to complete the study 

by 30 June 2006 and the report 

will be made available for public 

release,” Truss said. 

“The North-South Rail Corridor 

Study will define fundamental 

economic and financial issues 

associated with the future development 

of rail freight on this important 

transport corridor. 

“The study will also examine 

major issues such as the movement 

of rail freight through the three 

major capital cities, as well as major 

terminal and port interface issues,” 

he said. 

It is projected that the freight 

load on the Melbourne-Sydney- 

Brisbane corridor will double over 

the next ten years. 

Truss said the current Australian 

Rail Track Corporation 

(ARTC) investment programme 

will address the immediate needs 

for this corridor, but it is important 

to ensure that future capacity 

needs enable effective transport 

corridor planning consistent with 

AusLink, the government’s national 

land transport plan. 

INLAND/INTERMODAL NEWS 

Partners 

at war 

over PN 

Despite low key beginnings, the 

fight between 50:50 partners Toll 

Holdings and Patrick Corporation 

over joint venture rail company 

Pacific National (PN) is now 

being seen as crucial in the 

former’s hostile takeover bid for 

the latter. 

As reported in last month’s issue 

of WorldCargo News (p19), the 

dispute centres on PN’s activities 

in Queensland, where, earlier this 

year, it began above-track narrow-gauge 

operations under the 

Queensland Competition Authority 

(QCA)’s rail access regime 

in competition with the state 

government-owned Queensland 

Rail (QR). 

Underpinning the initiative 

was Toll North’s 2003 20-year 

“take-or-pay agreement” with 

PN that Patrick has since claimed 

effectively locked up all of PN’s 

Queensland capacity at preferential 

rates, costing PN some A$510 

mill in lost revenue. 

While Toll says the deal was 

signed off without question at the 

time by Patrick members of the 

PN board and Patrick managing 

director Chris Corrigan, Patrick 

has claimed that not all facts were 

presented to it and, significantly, 

two key PN executives - commercial 

general manager Robert 

Jeremy and financial controller 

Mal Grimmond, who have since 

been stood down - continued in 

the indirect employment of Toll 

in a manner that offered incentives 

for pro-Toll outcomes. 

Toll in its turn countered that 

the material value of the disputed 

transactions amounted to around 

A$20 mill and that the dispute 

had been “manufactured” by 

Patrick to frustrate the proposed 

takeover. 

In early September, the PN 

board refused to countenance an 

independent inquiry into the 

situation, leading to Patrick seeking 

formal activation of dispute 

resolution procedures in the Victorian 

Supreme Court. This action 

was successful, but the PN 

board still refused to accept the 

inquiry on the basis that its “independence” 

was questionable, 

given that it would be conducted 

by Patrick executives led by company 

secretary William O’Hara. 

This PN board refusal then 

triggered a complex process, under 

which the partners were required 

to appoint an arbitrator; if 

no agreement could be reached 

on who this should be, an appointment 

would be made by the 

Law Society of New South Wales. 

Once the arbitrator makes a 

decision (within 30 days) as to 

whether the dispute is indeed 

“material,” there is a 14-day cooling-off 

period, following which 

another 30 days is set aside for 

Toll managing director Paul Little 

and Corrigan to find a resolution 

to the dispute. 

If they do not agree, a sales 

facilitator would then be appointed 

to divide up PN’s assets 

and auction them to the two partners. 

Meanwhile Patrick has 

opened hostilities on a separate 

front, claiming that law firm 

Clayton Utz has a conflict of interest 

in that not only did it draw 

up the PN partnership agreement, 

but it is now acting for Toll 

in its hostile takeover bid for 

Patrick. This matter is also due to 

come before the Supreme Court 

in Victoria. 

October 2005

CONTAINER INDUSTRY NEWS 

Singamas to delist 

from Singapore 

Hong Kong-based Singamas 

Container Holdings, the world’s 

second-largest container maker, 

intends to delist its shares from the 

Singapore Stock Exchange because 

of the extremely low volumes 

traded there over the past 

five years. 

The move will come as a big 

disappointment to the government 

of Singapore, which has 

worked very hard over the past 

two decades to make the city-state 

a key international maritime hub. 

Singamas listed its shares on the 

Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 

Reflecting the significant downturn 

in demand for new containers 

from the second quarter 

of this year, China International 

Marine Containers (CIMC) has 

posted a 29 per cent dip in 2005 

third quarter earnings to 

Yuan598.61 mill (US$74 mill) 

from Yuan848.02 mill in the 

same quarter of 2004. 

CIMC sold 1.149 mill TEU 

in the first nine months of this 

year, up 0.52 per cent over the 

same period of last year. Standard 

dry freight boxes accounted 

for 1.03 mill TEU of the total, 

down 2 per cent on the corresponding 

period of 2004, with 

reefers and dry freight specials 

totalling 55,100 TEU and 

A new folding plastic pallet container, 

which occupies the minimum 

amount of space when 

folded, yet optimises internal capacity 

when erected, has been 

launched by UK-based Linpac 

Materials Handling. 

The “Smartbox” is available in 

both solid and perforated versions, 

or a combination of both, 

making it suitable for use across a 

wide variety of industry applica- 

1993 and took a secondary listing 

in Singapore in 1994. The company 

will retain its listing on the 

main board of the Hong Kong exchange, 

where daily trading volumes 

in its shares have ranged between 

2 and 10 mill. 

Singamas said the “additional 

administrative burden placed on 

the company in maintaining the 

listing in Singapore is not costeffective 

and not commensurate 

with the benefit to be derived by 

shareholders in view of the low 

trading volumes.” 

The voluntary delisting will 

CIMC Q3 profit 

takes a tumble 

64,000 TEU, up 11.76 per cent 

and 53.11 per cent respectively. 

However, after chalking up 

total sales of 831,284 TEU in the 

first half of this year, up 15 per 

cent year on year, the third quarter 

figure dipped to 317,816 TEU, 

down 24 per cent on the third 

quarter of 2004. Output of standard 

dry freight units amounted to 

280,000 TEU in the period, 

down by 27.5 per cent over the 

corresponding quarter of last year. 

With no sign of demand reviving 

in the fourth quarter, total 

sales for 2005 as a whole are expected 

to be at least 15 per cent 

down on the 1.639 mill TEU recorded 

in 2004. 

● CIMC has confirmed that it is 

be subject to the approval of 

shareholders at an extraordinary 

general meeting before the end 

of this year. 

Singamas has eight container 

factories in China and one in Indonesia, 

with a combined production 

capacity of 850,000 TEU a 

year. Its production capacity will 

rise to 1.25 mill TEU in 2006 

when its new factories at 

Guangdong and Ningbo in China 

are completed. 

In the first six months of this 

year, Singamas produced a total of 

320,785 TEU, up 20 per cent year 

on year, and sold 291,062 TEUs, 

up 12.5 per cent. With the box 

boom running out of steam, however, 

third and fourth quarter production 

is expected to be well 

down on the corresponding period 

of 2004. 

to liquidate Shanghai CIMC Far 

East Container Co (SFEC), in 

which it holds a 52.5 per cent 

stake. Production at the facility, 

which was set up 12 years ago 

close to residential areas in the 

Pudong New District of Shanghai, 

has already been halted for 

environmental reasons. 

The SFEC plant’s 150,000 

TEU/year dry freight box 

building capacity will not be 

lost, however. Despite having 

other production facilities in the 

Baoshan area of Shanghai, 

Nantong and Taicang in Jiangsu 

Province and Ningbo in 

Zhejiang, with sufficient production 

capacity to satisfy dry 

freight container demand in 

Shanghai and the neighbouring 

areas, CIMC has confirmed 

earlier reports that it is relocating 

the plant to a site near the 

new Yangshan deepwater port. 

The new facility, with a production 

capacity of up to 200,000 

TEU/year, is scheduled to open 

in the second half of next year. 

Linpac launches Smartbox 

tions. The unit comes in three 

standard footprints - 1200mm x 

800mm, 1200mm x 1000mm and 

1200mm x 1200mm, and two 

heights - 978mm and 805mm, offering 

users the opportunity to 

select the best footprint/height 

combination for their particular 

transport or storage requirements, 

Linpac says. 

At just 298mm, Smartbox offers 

up to 1:3 space saving when 

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1372 276222 FAX: +44 1372 279191 

The new Smartbox collapsible pallet 

container from Linpac Materials 

Handling offers a 1:3 saving in space 

when folded 

folded. and is claimed to have the 

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Please come see us at TOC Americas, 

Savannah, 29 Nov - 1 Dec, Booth Number D8 


news 

October 2005 21


news 

22 

AUSTRALIA: PORT DEVELOPMENT 

Oz industry fears breakbulk squeeze 

Amid all the attention given the supposed 

inadequacies of some Australian bulk ports 

and the perennial arguments over competition 

versus capacity in the container 

sector, there are growing fears that the 

breakbulk and general cargo trades are not 

being adequately catered for 

Industry’s greatest concern is in Sydney, 

where the ramifications of the state 

government’s 2003 Ports Growth Plan have 

become increasingly clear as various deadlines 

draw near. According to the government’s 

vision, container trade is to be effectively 

expelled from Sydney Harbour 

(Port Jackson) in favour of Port Botany, and 

The breakbulk and general cargo trades 

appear to be becoming the forgotten 

orphans of the Australian waterfront 

breakbulk, general and automotive activities 

progressively removed from Sydney 

berths at White Bay, Darling Harbour and 

Glebe Island to Port Kembla, further south. 

White Bay activities were first consolidated 

at Darling Harbour - forcing stevedores 

Patrick and P&O Ports to share facilities - 

ahead of complete closure of Darling Harbour 

in 2006. Glebe Island was expected 

to continue servicing the car trades until 

2012 - possibly 2017 - but, as reported on 

page 1 of this issue, its closure has now been 

brought forward to 2008. 

Little support 

It is not as though any section of the shipping 

industry - with the possible exception 

of the stevedores - has been fully 

behind the NSW moves. Initial support 

for a vision that “at least offers certainty” 

has given way to considerable - though 

so far ineffective - opposition, most 

broadly to the virtual end of Sydney as a 

working harbour, but also to the added 

inconvenience, inefficiency and cost of 

moving cargo activities away from Australia’s 

biggest market. 

For the container sector, Sydney Harbour 

remains home to the “lesser” services, 

the Papua New Guinea, Pacific Island 

and some New Zealand trades, that 

have neither the volume nor participation 

to justify fixed-day weekly services. 

Breakbulk operators are being progressively 

squeezed out of Sydney Harbour and forced 

to move to Port Kembla 

These simply “do not fit” at Port Botany, 

which is geared to the mainline routes, 

and neither do their mixes of containers 

and breakbulk cargoes in what are essentially 

grocery trades. But these services will 

all be forced out of Darling Habour next 

year and find neither Port Botany, Newcastle 

nor Port Kembla operationally or 

financially acceptable. 

Biggest user 

Spliethoff is a considerable player in the 

breakbulk trades, operating fortnightly 

sailings from Japan to Australian east coast 

ports, monthly sailings ex-Japan to west 

coast ports, monthly sailings ex-Taiwan, 

China and Korea to the east coast and bimonthly 

to the west coast, via South East 

Asia, plus monthly sailings ex-Europe. The 

company specialises in steel, machinery, 

boats, paper and forest products, project 

and non-containerised cargo and is thus 

the single largest user of breakbulk cargo 

facilities Australia-wide. 

Ken Fitzpatrick, managing director of 

Spliethoff ’s Australian agent Asiaworld 

Shipping, says bluntly that breakbulk trades 

are at risk because state governments are 

“set on removing vital port facilities from 

city centres, driving them outside current 

city limits and reducing wharf space into 

the bargain.” Fitzpatrick has been a major 

critic of the NSW plan since its release but, 

like everyone else in the industry it seems, 

is making no headway in getting his concerns 

heard or understood. 

Spliethoff, as a principal user of Darling 

Harbour (and White Bay before that) 

faces a wholesale shift to Newcastle to 

the north or Port Kembla to the south. 

Prior to White Bay’s closure ship operators 

had almost 2000m of quay line available, 

but at Port Kembla this will be 430m 

at most, he noted. 

“We will continue the fight to try and 

service our customers at the port facilities 

that best suit their needs from a logistics 

and cost point of view and to minimise 

the impact of any changes,” he said, 

but state governments must take responsibility 

for the impost they are about to 

place on Australian shippers. 

Shrinking space 

In Brisbane, the general cargo berths at 

upriver Hamilton are being gradually vacated 

in favour of a cruise terminal/residential/retail 

development, with all 

breakbulk activity to be shifted to Berths 

1, 2 and 3 at the Fisherman Islands complex 

at the mouth of the Brisbane River. 

While this is generally seen as an acceptable 

move, Fitzpatrick points out that available 

quayline will again shrink, from 1100m 

at Hamilton to 697m at Fisherman Islands. 

What is more, the automotive trade 

will have priority over Berths 1 and 2. 

Fitzpatrick says the Port of Brisbane 

Corporation (PBC) has given an undertaking 

that Hamilton Wharves will be 

kept in service until work at Fisherman 

Islands is complete, but local sources say 

Brisbane already has a problem accommodating 

all breakbulk and associated requirements 

at the latter and this will not 

necessarily ease with the redevelopment 

of Berths 1, 2 and 3. 

Back to boxes 

In Fremantle, the shipping industry has 

been most disturbed by Fremantle Ports’ 

apparent determination to return Inner 

Harbour Berths 11 and 12 to their origi- 

October 2005

AUSTRALIA: PORT DEVELOPMENT 

nal use as a container terminal. P&O Ports 

and Patrick’s container operations were 

long ago shifted to North Quay Berths 

3-10 and Berths 11/12 have been used 

by the livestock, general cargo and automotive 

trades in recent years. 

But in late 2003, the port authority 

called for expressions of interest for redevelopment 

of the berths and later nominated 

Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) 

as its preferred tenant. MSC has since 

struck a deal with its existing stevedore, 

Patrick, for joint operation of a new twocrane, 

250,000 TEU/year terminal - made 

easier because Berths 11 and 12 adjoin 

Patrick’s existing leases (see WorldCargo 

News August 2005, p5). 

Sections of the industry have described 

plans for further container berths as 

“laughable” given the occupancy of the 

existing facilities, and see the Fremantle 

move as further evidence of neglect of 

the breakbulk and general cargo sector. 

Fremantle Ports’ forward planning envisages 

development of three container and 

two general cargo berths in the Outer 

Harbour at Kwinana, but that expansion 

is only scheduled once the Inner Harbour 

reaches saturation and in any case 

the plan is already facing stiff local community 

opposition. 

In the meantime Fremantle Ports has 

appointed consultants to undertake a 

thorough review of the MSC/Patrick 

proposal and is seeking detailed submissions 

from those sections of the industry 

that expect to be disadvantaged. 

Melbourne exception 

Only in Melbourne is there an expansion 

of breakbulk facilities underway, with 

Westgate Ports shortly due to announce 

detailed plans for its redevelopment of the 

Victoria Dock precinct, which will combine 

a rail-served distripark with up to 

three multi-purpose berths. 

Breakbulk is also handled over some of 

Patrick’s Webb Dock berths, and, more 

regularly, at P&O Ports’ Appleton Dock B, 

C and D berths. leading some to suggest 

that the port will actually be over-provided 

once Victoria Dock is fully operational. 

“Whatever the occasional pressure 

points, the fact is that breakbulk and general 

has been trending downwards for 

years,” one port source said. “Operators 

have to understand that port space is a 

luxury that can’t readily be afforded these 

days, and they’ll need to learn to share.” 

For the automotive business, 

however,the issue is growing rather than 

receding trade. Whereas car shipments to 

Australia were once largely confined to 

services from UK/Europe and Japan, 

globalisation of manufacturing has seen 

the points of origin and sheer number of 

services mushroom in recent years, with 

shipments now emanating from South 

Korea, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa, 

China, North America, Brazil and more. 

And Australian-based manufacturers 

are exporting vehicles in considerable 

numbers to the US, New Zealand, South 

Africa, Thailand and in particular the Middle 

East. According to the Federal Chamber 

of Automotive Industries (FCAI) exports 

are expected to double by 2010, to 

A$10 bill a year. 

Loudest complaint 

All the major deepsea carriers have expressed 

their concerns, but loudest has 

been Wallenius Wilhelmsen (WW), which 

will see itself driven out of Sydney’s Darling 

Harbour next year, either to an overcrowded 

Glebe Island or to the even more 

unsatisfactory Port Kembla. 

WW’s efforts - if not pleas - to the 

NSW government to allow it to transfer 

its ro-ro and PCTC operations to the now 

largely disused White Bay in Sydney, adjacent 

to Glebe Island, have achieved 

nothing. The company believes it will be 

seriously disadvantaged, either because it 

will have to move to Port Kembla while 

its clients’ competitors continue at Glebe 

Island, or because it will be forced to shoehorn 

its activities - some of which can be 

incompatible - into unsuitable facilities 

at either location. 

In a 33-page report completed as recently 

as late July, the FCAI was highly 

critical of plans to close Glebe Island, describing 

the mooted shift to Port Kembla 

as meaning increased costs and “gross inefficiencies 

for the price sensitive car retail 

business.” 

The chamber believes that the proposed 

Port Kembla redevelopment will 

be inadequate to deal with the bunching 

of car carriers typical of the vehicle trades 

due to batch production. It says present 

Port Kembla facilities are basic and would 

be fully occupied by one ro-ro ship. While 

a 130m extension is underway and a new 

A$40 mill, 290m berth is due by 2007, 

these areas will have to be shared with all 

the other breakbulk business being evicted 

from Sydney Harbour. 

It also considers that insufficient backup 

storage and processing space is being 

factored into the development and insufficient 

consideration has been given to the 

capabilities of support infrastructure required 

to enable rapid cargo clearance. 

Additionally, there is the issue of road/ 

rail links between Port Kembla and Syd- 

ney, which must pass over the steep and 

somewhat treacherous Mount Ousley. 

Larger fleets of smaller car carrying trailers 

will be required, since local delivery 

will be impossible using cost-effective Bdoubles, 

and each truck will likely only 

accomplish two round trips per day compared 

to the usual four in Sydney. 

Instead, FCAI argues, Glebe Island 

should be redeveloped to handle the car 

carriers and ro-ros that will be displaced 

from Darling Harbour next year. The 

A$12 mill cost of building multi-storey 

car storage at Glebe Island would be considerably 

cheaper than the work needed 

at Port Kembla. ❏ 

Operators are concerned that the proposed 

facilities at Port Kembla for breakbulk and 

automotive operations will be inadequate 

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news 

October 2005 23


news 

Sydney’s ability to deal with ex 

isting container volumes has 

been problematic enough and 

has not been helped by the state 

government’s rejection of the Sydney 

Ports Corporation (SPC)’s 

Enfield inland hub project and 

Patrick’s proposed Ingleburn 

intermodal terminal (though the 

latter decision was recently overturned 

in court - see WorldCargo 

News August 2005, p13). 

Concerned that metropolitan 

landside infrastructure is not capable 

of adequately handling increased 

transport demand to and 

from western and south western 

Sydney and that growth in demand 

for future empty container 

park capacity in the corresponding 

outer industrial centres will 

not be adequately met, the Sea 

Freight Council of New South 

Wales (SFCNSW) recently commissioned 

consultants Strategic 

design+Development (Sd+D) to 

prepare a report on Landside Infrastructure 

Capability for International 

Containers - and the find- 

24 

ings have amplified industry forebodings. 

Growing traffic 

Based on an annual average 

growth rate of 4.3-5.6 per cent, 

Port Botany’s container throughput 

is expected to be between 3.2 

and 4.3 mill TEU by 2025/26 - 

quite conservative in light of average 

growth of more than 8 per 

cent over the past decade. 

The estimated volume of full 

import containers moving to 

outer metropolitan Sydney by that 

date will be between 0.9 and 1.3 

mill TEU, over three times current 

volumes, and over 80 per cent 

of these containers will be des- 

tined for the outer western suburbs 

and move through the inner 

western suburbs. 

The flow of import boxes to 

or through inner western Sydney 

is likely to be between 1.2 and 1.6 

mill TEU in 2025/26 - ie some 

75 per cent of all NSW’s containerised 

imports will flow on the 

east-west axis across much of metropolitan 

Sydney and it is this axis 

that is not sufficiently supported 

by road and rail transport infrastructure 

and empty container 

park capacity, the report says. 

Sd+D says future container 

volumes will also directly impact 

landside capacity closer to the 

port: in 20 years’ time the Port 

Botany terminals will be hosting 

3600-4600 trucks per day, or peak 

volumes of 540-690 trucks/hour. 

AUSTRALIA: INLAND/INTERMODAL 

Sydney confronts landside container jams 

While the fate of the third Port 

Botany container terminal has 

occupied the spotlight for over two 

years, the land logistics side of the 

equation is now under scrutiny 

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Distribution of freight activity within the Sydney metropolitan area, highlighting the preponderance of traffic on the eastwest 

axis. (Source: Sd+D Enfield Intermodal Terminal Value Chain Analysis for Sydney Ports Corporation 2005) 

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The consultants say strategic 

landside infrastructure issues that 

must be addressed revolve around 

providing adequate and effective 

road capacity, rail access and governance, 

strategic land use planing 

for intermodal terminals and 

empty container parks. Empty 

container repositioning practices 

should support a more efficient 

use of the landside infrastructure 

system as a whole. 

Key message 

The SFCNSW says the key message 

is that having identified 

where the growth in NSW container 

volumes will result in capacity 

constraints, and the specific 

and integrated solutions required 

to address these constraints, “the 

only question remaining is 

whether or not the action needed 

by government and industry is 

taken before or after the constraints 

are realised.” 

In 2003/04, the NSW container 

system handled approximately 

1.28 mill TEU, with international 

containers being exchanged 

at Newcastle, Sydney (Port 

Jackson and Port Botany) and Port 

Kembla. Notwithstanding the state 

government’s ports strategy (Sydney’s 

breakbulk trade to be shifted 

to Port Kembla and Newcastle to 

be developed as the next generation 

international container terminal), 

the focal point of the container 

handling system is at the Patrick and 

P&O Ports terminals at Port 

Botany. “The whole of NSW is 

dependent on efficient and effective 

landside infrastructure capability 

within the Sydney metropolitan 

region,” the Sd+D report says. 

Broadly speaking, the existing 

landside infrastructure has coped 

with past growth in the NSW 

container task, but an effective system 

must be capable of handling 

structural changes in future 

growth patterns, Sd+D says. 

Strategic initiatives 

Based on the report, the 

SFCNSW is to support a number 

of broad strategic capability initiatives 

including: 

● The development of a road transport 

policy that underpins the 

growth in road traffic, relieves the 

expected increasing congestion and 

addresses the looming shortage of 

heavy vehicle drivers. 

For container freight traffic, the 

SFCNSW says, Sydney’s road networks 

currently offer adequate 

north-south corridor links. However, 

east-west routes are inadequate 

for the movement of containers 

to and from Port Botany. 

The capacity to serve freight flows 

along the M4 Freeway and the 

connection between Strathfield 

and Port Botany remain critical for 

the short term, while the M5 Motorway 

linkage to Port Botany is 

already reaching capacity. 

● The development of a strategic 

rail transport policy incorporating 

supply chain-based governance 

options that engage stevedores, rail 

network managers, government 

agencies, shipping lines and rail, 

road, terminal and empty container 

park operators. 

The assessment of alternative 

supply chain structures will include: 

port-based rail terminals to 

improve the port-rail interface and 

train turnaround efficiency, while 

“disengaging” the operational dependency 

between stevedoring 

terminals and rail operations; and 

a balance in empty container park 

capacity designed to reduce demand 

on the metropolitan transport 

network. 

● A review of metropolitan rail 

network capacity to reflect future 

annual rail demand of between 1.2 

and 1.4 mill TEU and to fully utilise 

the benefits accruing from the 

Enfield to Port Botany line upgrade 

and the ARTC investment 

in the Southern Sydney Freight 

Line. Serious consideration must 

also be given to a dedicated freight 

line to the outer western areas of 

Sydney where significant business 

and traffic growth are expected. 

● The provision of land banking 

for future intermodal terminals 

(integrated with empty container 

parks) totalling around 150 hectares, 

to ensure availability of future 

capacity to service the needs 

of inner and outer west and south 

western Sydney. 

● The engagement of the shipping 

and empty container park sectors 

in the development of a more sophisticated 

commercial arrangement 

that supports the development 

of empty container park facilities 

in western Sydney. 

● The on-going identification of 

additional solutions to deliver a 

NSW landside international container 

system capable of handling 

expected growth in traffic. 

“It is recognised that a strategic 

plan to address issues raised in 

this report has not been agreed 

between government and industry 

and, therefore, the purpose of 

the report is to precipitate discussion 

towards development of such 

a plan,” the SFCNSW says. 

“A number of governmentinitiated 

forums are considering 

strategies, which address current 

and future supply chain performance 

and capacity. It is also recognised 

that a number of the strategic 

imperatives identified in this 

study are being given consideration 

by the NSW Freight Infrastructure 

Advisory Board [Federal 

Government], AusLink programmes 

and the ARTC.” ❏ 

October 2005

AUSTRALIA: TERMINAL OPERATIONS 

Waterfront productivity picks 

up as volume growth slows 

The latest Waterline report from Australia’s 

Bureau of Transport and Regional 

Economics (BTRE) covering the six 

months January-June 2005 confirms anecdotal 

evidence from ports, stevedores 

and shipping lines: last year’s boom is not 

being replicated this year. 

In January-June 2005, total cargo 

throughput and total container traffic 

were 57.064 mill tonnes and 2.244 mill 

TEU respectively at the five major capital 

city ports, Adelaide, Brisbane, Fremantle, 

Melbourne and Sydney/Port Botany. 

This compared with 58.6 mill tonnes for 

the previous half-year July-December 

2004 and 57.7 mill tonnes for the January-June 

2004 period and represented a 

decrease of 1.1 per cent in total cargo 

throughput for the five ports compared 

with January-June 2004 and a decrease 

of 2.6 per cent over July-December 2004. 

Compared with the same period of 

last year, total cargo throughput in January-June 

2005 increased 5.2 per cent at 

Brisbane, and decreased by 0.8 per cent 

at Sydney, 0.1 per cent at Melbourne, 5.7 

per cent at Adelaide and 6.6 per cent at 

Fremantle. 

Total container throughput for the five 

ports was 2.244 mill TEU for January- 

June 2005, a seemingly substantial decrease 

of 5.6 per cent on the 2.376 mill 

TEU recorded in July–December 2004 

but nevertheless an increase of 4.9 per cent 

on the 2.140 mill TEU reported for January-June 

2004. Compared with January- 

June 2004, loaded TEU at the five ports 

increased by 3 per cent, with loaded imports 

rising by 3 per cent and loaded exports 

increasing by 4 per cent. Growth is 

still continuing at solid rates on the basis 

of these figures, but these increases are 

noticeably lower than in 2004, when the 

Australian waterfront was caught up in 

the “China explosion.” Brisbane, for example, 

recently boasted 13.5 per cent 

growth in container traffic for 2004-05. 

In the context of a slackening of 

growth, container terminal performance 

(stevedoring productivity) recovered 

ground over recent Waterline measurements, 

which may mean “stress levels” 

have declined somewhat. 

National crane rate productivity, as 

measured by the five port average, increased 

to 27.2 containers per hour in the 

March quarter 2005 (0.02 per cent lower 

than the March quarter 2004 rate of 27.7). 

In the June quarter 2005, the crane rate 

rose slightly to 27.7 containers per hour 

(0.02 per cent lower than the record June 

quarter 2004 rate of 28.2). In summary: 

● The five-port average crane rate (average 

productivity per crane while the ship 

is worked) was 27.5 containers per hour 

in the September quarter 2004, 27.1 in 

the December quarter 2004, 27.2 in the 

March quarter 2005, and 27.7 for the June 

quarter 2005. 

● The five port total of container moves 

through reporting terminals dropped from 

744,032 in the March quarter 2005 to 

743,597 in the June quarter 2005, a decrease 

of 9 per cent on the December 

quarter 2004 record of 819,744 containers; 

however in comparison to the June 

quarter 2004, container moves were up 

0.9 per cent in the June quarter 2005. 

● The five-port average vessel working 

rate (productivity per ship based on the 

time labour is aboard the ship) was 32.6 

containers per hour in the September 

quarter 2004, 33.1 in the December quarter 

2004, 34.9 in the March quarter 2005, 

and 35.3 containers per hour in the June 

quarter 2005, which was 3.6 per cent 

higher than the rate of 34.1 achieved in 

the June quarter 2004. 

The Brisbane (P&O Ports, Patrick) average 

crane rate increased from 26.5 containers 

per hour in the December quarter 

2004 to 27.2 in the March quarter 2005, 

and remained at 27.2 containers per hour 

in the June quarter 2005. The vessel working 

rate increased from 24.6 containers per 

hour in the December quarter 2004 to 26.1 

in the March quarter 2005, and to 26.7 in 

the June quarter 2005. 

The Sydney (P&O Ports, Patrick) average 

crane rate was 26.7 in the December 

quarter 2004 and remained 26.7 in 

the March quarter 2005. It increased to 

27.7 containers per hour in the June quarter 

2005. The vessel working rate was 34.9 

containers per hour in the December 

quarter 2004 and also 34.9 in the March 

quarter 2005. It increased to 36.9 in the 

June quarter 2005. 

The Melbourne (P&O Ports, Patrick) 

average crane rate was 27.5 containers per 

hour in the December quarter 2004 and 

27.5 in the March quarter 2005. It increased 


June quarter 2005. The vessel working rate 

was 35.6 containers per hour in the December 

quarter 2004 and increased to 

39.3 in the March quarter 2005. It decreased 

to 38.7 in the June quarter 2005. 

The Adelaide (DPI Terminals) average 

crane rate was 29.8 containers per hour in 

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the December quarter 2004 and 29.7 in 

the March quarter 2005. It increased to 30.4 

containers per hour in the June quarter 

2005. The vessel working rate increased 

from a record 35.3 containers per hour in 

the December quarter 2004 to 37.1 in the 

March quarter 2005, and decreased to 33.6 

in the June quarter 2005. 

The Fremantle (P&O Ports, Patrick) 

average crane rate was 27.2 containers per 

hour in the December quarter 2004 and 

26.7 in the March quarter 2005. It increased 


June quarter 2005. The vessel working rate 

rose from 31.3 containers per hour in the 

December quarter 2004 to 31.4 in the 

March quarter 2005,and increased to 32.2 

in the June quarter 2005. 

While this was happening, however, 

costs were rising in some key areas and it 


news 

is suspected that both the BTRE and the 

Australian Competition and Consumer 

Commission will be keeping a close eye 

on emerging trends. 

Harbour towage charges increased at 

three of the five major ports during the 

year, for example, and, more worryingly, 

the national port interface cost index for 

exporting a container rose from A$579/ 

TEU in July-December 2004 to A$623/ 

TEU (in 2001 constant prices) for January-June 

2005. While it is unrealistic to 

expect costs to fall continually, the latter 

increase is quite sharp. Land-based contributors 

were rising customs brokers’ 

fees and more expensive road transport 

charges, while ship-based charges also 

rose, partly due to lower exchanges and 

partly to rising port charges, especially 

in Brisbane. ❏ 

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October 2005 25 

329


news 

26 


Maximising liquid assets across the 49th parallel 

With the exception of the Port of 

Montreal, shipping in the Great 

Lakes St Lawrence Seaway system 

is mainly associated with dry and 

liquid bulk of all kinds, breakbulk 

and neo-bulk cargoes, project 

cargo and heavy lifts. 

The system is vital for US and 

Canadian bilateral and wider international 

trade - more than 300 

mill tonnes were shipped during 

the 2004 navigation season. But it 

also has potential for modal shift 

from road to sea that today is all 

but untapped. 

Highway H 2 0 

The US and Canadian seaway authorities 

have teamed up with 12 

lakes’ ports and five seaway ports 

to promote shortsea container and 

ferry services, new transatlantic 

and even via Suez services. 

“Highway H20,” as they now 

call the 3700 km long marine corridor 

between Duluth and Quebec 

boasts 41 inland ports. Its shore 

lines are close to 100 mill people, 

or 25 per cent of the population 

of North America and, in addition, 

Duluth Superior, the most 

westerly of the lakes’ ports, opens 

up the whole of Great Plains. 

Congestion in main ports and 

overburdened road and rail networks 

are the point of departure 

for “Hwy H 2 0,” especially as regards 

small and medium-sized 

shippers and carriers who have 

been “pushed to the back of the 

queue” and face lengthy delays. 

The ports of Hamilton and Toronto, 

for example, are both pursuing 

the idea of “niche” transatlantic 

services connecting with 

“inland” ports such as Bremen, 

Antwerp or Rouen. The seaway 

is closed for two months, but 

“that’s not a problem, it’s just a 

given that you work with,” says 

Conditions may be right for modal shift on a large 

scale in the industrial heartlands of North America 

Lisa Raitt, president and CEO of 

Toronto Port Authority (TPA). 

“Toronto is a key destination in 

its own right because it is a major 

consumer centre.” The city has a 

population of 2.5 million and 5.2 

million people live in the whole 

of the Greater Toronto Area. 

Peak factors 

Richard Corfe, president and 

CEO of the St Lawrence Seaway 

Management Corporation (Canada’s 

seaway authority), also plays 

down the significance of the annual 

closure. The peak container 

shipping seasons occur in the 

spring and autumn and then Hwy 

H 2 0 can “score” because of the 

pressure on road and rail links from 

coastal sea ports. To encourage 

new traffic, adds Corfe, tariffs for 

ships with new cargoes on the 

Welland Canal have been slashed. 

Another option, says J Keith 

Robson, president and CEO of 

Hamilton Port Authority (HPA), 

is to tranship in Halifax and use 

smaller ships or barges on Hwy 

H 2 0. As a way round the 2-month 

closure of the seaway, containers 

could be unloaded in Albany on 

the Hudson River and railed 

across upper New York state to 

Oswego, a Hwy H 2 0 partner port 

with which Hamilton is promoting 

a freight ro-ro service. The 

Port of Albany can cater for 

handymax vessels. 

Not all of the ideas being discussed 

will work but at least industry 

players are thinking in innovative 

ways. Standing conventional 

wisdom about shipping 

economics on its head is TPA’s 

chairwoman Michele D 

The Great Lakes are a mostly untapped resource for modal shift but congestion 

over main ports and highways could be a forcing house for change 

McCarthy. She notes that Shanghai 

municipal authorities, concerned 

about delays to exports due 

to port congestion across the Pacific, 

are pushing for container 

services into the Great Lakes via 

Suez. 

The maximum lakes’ vessel envelope 

is 225m LOA by 23.8m 

wide and 8.08m draught, with an 

air draft of no more than 35m 

above waterline. This translates 

into 35-36,000 dwt. 

A problem for ports such as Toronto 

and Hamilton is that their 

hinterland is already served by 

truck and rail from Montreal (another 

Hwy H 2 0 partner port), 

which would surely take steps on 

the price front to stop “containers 

sailing past its door.” The lake 

ports want to give Montreal a “run 

for its money.” If traffic keeps growing 

and road and rail continue to 

struggle, they may have a chance. 

Another possibility is transhipping 

to barges in Montreal or 

other seaway ports. Paulo Pessoa, 

sales director of McKiel Marine 

Ltd, a leading tug and barge operator, 

makes the point that this 

gets round the “alien species” ballast 

water problem that is a major 

environmental issue in the lakes. 

McKiel, which has a close 

working relationship with a leading 

Canadian stevedore, Logistec, 

already moves considerable bulk 

and breakbulk tonnage between 

various seaway and lake ports. So 

why not containers? 

In effect McKiel operates a 

sto-ro service. Trucks drive onto 

its barges and the cargo is forked 

out and stowed. Its bigger barges 

can take the equivalent of 250 

truck loads and in Canada trailers 

can gross at 44 tonnes - ie around 

10,000 tonnes per sailing. 

Serving the US in this way is 

very cost-effective, says Pessoa. Canadian 

truckers are up against all 

sorts of problems at the US border 

and of course their payloads 

have to be much lighter. 

McKiel is building up its fleet 

of integrated tug barges, including 

“double notch” articulated sets. 

Large barges with integrated tugs 

are the way forward, believes the 

company. The tugs lock into the 

back of barges and push them even 

in weather that normally keeps 

tugs and barges in port. 

Lakes’ ferries 

The other aspect of Hwy H 2 0 is 

bilateral Canadian-US traffic. The 

first new ferry service on the lakes 

in 40 years was recently started 

between Rochester, NY and Toronto 

on Lake Ontario. The 

Austal-built fast ferry SPIRIT OF 

ONTARIO has a top speed of 48 

knots and makes the crossing in 

just over two hours. The vessel can 

carry 750 passengers and 220 cars 

or 10 buses or trucks. The service 

is popular with tourists and weekend 

commuters alike and runs for 

9-10 months of the year. 

Dropping the pilot 

Cross-border ferry services are 

outwith the Jones Act so ships do 

not have to be US-built. But flagging 

them to the US or Canada 

avoids pilot costs in the lakes. 

Hamilton and Oswego are 

pushing for a daily link (two ships) 

across Lake Ontario. HPA is also 

interested in a Lake Erie link between 

Cleveland and Nanticoke, 

where Stelco operates a private 

wharf for coal and iron ore suitable 

for a freight ferry. 

Keith Robson believes that this 

would be a better bet than reviving 

the historic steamer route between 

Cleveland and Port Stanley. 

This plan has run into problems 

because of difficulties at the Port 

Stanley end (WorldCargo News, 

March 2005, p20 and September 

2005, p34). He thinks there may 

be scope for a Nanticoke-Toledo 

service as well. 

The “Marine Link” banner 

currently involves HPA and the 

ports of Oswego and Erie-West 

Pennsylvania, Seaway Marine 

Transport and, crucially, PBB Logistics, 

a leading forwarder engaged 

in the US-Canada overnight 

market. 

Trucking woes 

PBB’s SVP Bob Armstrong ex- 

plains the problems on the trucking 

side that are driving the modal 

shift agenda. 

Highway 401, the main artery 

between Toronto and Detroit, is 

carrying 6 mill truck trips/year. 

Delays around Windsor and other 

towns are notorious. As if congestion 

were not bad enough, there 

is a big shortage of drivers on both 

sides of the border. The US and 

Canada do not recognise truck 

driving as a skilled profession, so 

there is no immigrant labour available 

for the job. 

Making matters worse, the US 

in particular has tightened up on 

immigration controls post-911. 

Many Canadian drivers are from 

countries that the US doesn’t like 

and they can be routinely held up 

for hours at the border. 

Finally, because of US liability 

laws, it costs around US$15,000/ 

year to insure a single truck even 

if it makes only one crossing a 

year! One Canadian trucker estimates 

that his insurance costs 

would go down by 75 per cent if 

he did not drive in the US. 

So there are all sorts of reasons 

why trucking south is not popular. 

Conversely, US truckers do not 

like coming north. They do not 

like border controls and having to 

give up their firearms and they 

don’t like decimal distances, 

changing currency, etc. 

“We are finalising the figures 

comparing door-to-door costs of 

road trunking and the ferry alternative, 

but the numbers are looking 

good taking into account the 

problems truckers now have,” says 

Keith Robson. “We are adamant 

that the ro-ro ferry services have 

to stand on their own merits and 

not be subsidised. Truckers and 

forwarders are coming to us and 

asking us to find solutions.” ❏ 

October 2005


South of the border for decongestant? 

Last year’s NAWC range port congestion 

has largely not been repeated 

this year, but all the same there is 

still substantial interest in finding 

alternative ways to serve the US market. 

Shipping lines are routing more 

services to Atlantic coast ports via 

Panama and Suez and several lines 

have increased sailings to Mexican 

ports, using intermodal rail to move 

containers to US interior points. 

The shift has put added pressure on 

Panamanian authorities to decide whether 

the canal should be enlarged to accommodate 

bigger vessels (and, if so, how big 

should it become - WorldCargo News, May 

2005, p68) and on Mexican officials concerning 

the development of a major new 

port in Baja California. 

Colonet study 

Earlier this year Baja California governor 

Eugenio Elorduy Walther authorised a 

feasibility study by Hutchison Port Holdings 

and the Union Pacific (UP) railroad 

concerning the potential for such a port, 

most likely to be sited in a sweeping inlet 

located near Punta Colonet, backed by 

the small village of Colonet. The inlet and 

its environs offer over 27,000 acres of 

“greenfield” development and would have 

to be linked to the US and Mexican rail 

systems by a new heavy duty main line. 

Both Hutchison and UP have considerable 

experience in Mexico. UP is the 

only railroad serving all six US/Mexico 

rail border crossings while Hutchison has 

been operating marine terminals at 

Ensenada, Lázaro Cárdenas, Manzanillo 

and Veracruz for a number of years. 

Although Mexico has been steadily 

building up capacity at its ports to serve 

its own market the new venture being 

examined in Baja California would be 

specifically directed to funnelling Asian 

freight to the US market. 

No more space 

Most NAWC ports have reached the bottom 

of their “land banks” and have little 

additional acreage left. Of three with 

some, the Port of Long Beach has just 

one 160-acre terminal remaining on its 

drawing board, which still lacks an environmental 

impact report (EIR), while the 

Port of Tacoma has a similar-sized parcel 

available, although most of it is controlled 

by a native American Indian tribe. 

The Port of Vancouver, BC is going 

ahead with another parcel at man-made 

Roberts Bank to fit in another terminal, 

but at considerable expense (see news). In 

northern BC, the Port of Prince Rupert 

has had to demolish its existing breakbulk 

facility to move forward with what will 

be its first container terminal. 

Envisioned at Colonet, at least by 

Mexican authorities, is a port that could 

be handling 1 mill TEU/year within 5-7 

years, expanding to a capacity of 6 mill 

TEU/year by 2025. This would require 

substantial dredging and a new man-made 

breakwater protecting between 10 and 20 

berths that would be linked to the US 

border by a new 180-mile rail line. 

The cost for such an undertaking has 

been estimated at US$1.2 bill to US$3 

bill, but with a potential US$22 bill gain 

for the Mexican economy. The port’s development 

and operation would also generate 

a new city, possibly with as many as 

250,000 residents and a new airport. 

Depending upon the results of the feasibility 

study, Mexico’s Secretariat of 

Communication and Transportation is expected 

to approach the world’s terminal 

operating companies with a request for 

proposals later this year or in early 2006. 

NYK, NOL and Maersk Sealand have 

shown interest in moving more containers 

though Mexico. US-based terminal 

operator Marine Terminals Corp has been 

examining a Mexican gateway as well. 

Help us out 

Last year, Mexico’s Port of Ensenada, only 

a few miles below the US border near 

San Diego, was called upon to help take 

some diverted traffic from Los Angeles and 

Long Beach. Since then, Hutchison, 

which operates both the port’s cargo and 

cruise terminals, has brought in two more 

second-hand cranes from Seattle. 

These machines, plus the laying down 

of additional storage capacity, have helped 

expand throughput at Ensenada and 

drawn in more shipping. However, the 

port lacks a rail link to the US or Mexican 

systems, and further marine development 

there has been protested by Vida 

Ensenadense, a local citizens’ group that has 

been watching the impact of port expansion 

on neighbourhoods in nearby San 

Diego and Los Angeles. 

Although the group is against further 

expansion in Ensenada, including the development 

of rail, it has determined that 

if a new port is indeed needed in Baja 

California, Colonet is the place to build 

it. The few existing citizens of Colonet 

also appear to be in agreement as land 

values there have increased from 5¢/m 2 

to US$5/m 2 over the past few months 

because of project rumours. 

Fast growth 

In the meantime, Hutchison has watched 

its cargo vessel activity at Ensenada grow 

from one ship call per week at the start of 

the year to five/week by mid-August, 

while some 250 cruise ships carrying 0.5 

mill passengers dock annually. Hutchison 

took over cargo operations at the Mexican 

port from Manila-based International 

Container Terminal Service, Inc (ICTSI) 

in 2001. ICTSI had made the original successful 

bid for the operation in 1997. 

Since then, the port’s cruise terminal 

has been built and the harbour dredged 

to accommodate larger vessels. It is estimated 

that Ensenada now handles 15-20 

per cent of imports moving to regional 

maquiladora plants, with the percentage 

expected to increase as local assemblers, 

such as Panasonic and Sharp, redirect their 

containers to the port from crowded US 

gateways. Ensenada’s 13-ha cargo terminal 

currently supports one 300m con- 

Mexican ports are being deepened but there is 

little domestic capital for new construction 


news 

October 2005 27


news 

Hutchison placed two extra container cranes at Ensenada, to help capture traffic 

diverted from congested Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Photo from HPH) 

tainer berth, backed by the four 

cranes, five RTGs and a reach 

stacker, and a single breakbulk 

berth fronted by a cargo shed. 

There is enough land to create 

a third berth, or to expand the 

existing container berth to handle 

two container ships simultaneously. 

Hutchison is said to be 

considering the expansion, especially 

as it receives more diverted 

traffic from southern California. 

Raising Lázaro 

More than 1000 kms to the south 

Hutchison operates a similar-sized 

container facility at the Port of 

Lázaro Cárdenas through a 51 per 

cent stake in LC Terminal 

Portuaria de Contenedores SA de 

CV. Hutchison also has a yard operation 

at Manzanillo, where 

Carrix (ex-Stevedoring Services 

of America), operates the port’s 

main container terminal. 

Although Manzanillo has traditionally 

handled the most container 

traffic on Mexico’s Pacific 

Coast, the industrial port of Lázaro 

Cárdenas is catching up. Both 

Maersk Sealand and APL have 

shifted some traffic there, to take 

advantage of the shorter rail route 

to the US border offered by Transportación 

Ferroviaria Mexicana 

(TFM) and better highway connections 

to Mexico City. 

28 

Hutchison, which bought into 

the terminal in 2003, is expected 

to spend nearly US$300 mill to 

develop its operations and facilities 

at Lázaro Cárdenas. The existing 

15-ha terminal could be 

expanded to 85-ha and its single 

286m long container pier lengthened 

to 1350m. The port, which 

handles a large number of bulk 

carriers, including those serving 

the giant Mittal Steel complex, is 

Mexico’s deepest at 18m, and 

Hutchison plans to deepen its own 

berth from 14m to 16m. 

Hutchison also has a stevedoring 

and container handling 

operation in Manzanillo, 320 kms 

north of Lázaro Cárdenas. Terminal 

Internacional de Manzanillo 

(TIMSA) serves the nine public 

berths in the harbour using a 4.3ha 

equipment and storage yard. 

Bigger player 

However, most containers at 

Manzanillo are moved by TTMM 

Puertos y Terminales, Carrix’s 

Mexican subsidiary. TTMM’s 

14.3-ha, 8-gate facility has 500m 

of berthing served by two post- 

Panamax (Impsa) and two 

Panamax (Bardella-Mitsubishi) 

cranes backed by 13.3-ha of storage 

area. Over the past 10 years 

the yard fleet has been built up to 

12 KCI Konecranes’ RTGs which 

operate alongside four smaller, 

older Paceco rubber-tyred 

Transtainers, along with four top 

loaders and four ECH side picks. 

Intermodal rail connections, 

using two 500m spurs at the port, 

allow stacktrain service to interior 

points and the US border by 

Ferromex. Manzanillo has been 

capturing most of the container 

traffic on Mexico’s west coast, although 

the port’s 90 per cent factor 

of several years ago is now 

steadily being whittled away by 

Lázaro Cárdenas and Ensenada. 

There is considerable competition 

between the states of 

Colima (Manzanillo) and 

Michoacán (Lázaro Cárdenas) regarding 

the development and 

funding of port and road infrastructure 

in their respective areas. 

Michoacán is currently in the lead. 

Megapuerto? 

Continuing developments at 

Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas, 

and the perceived possibility of 

further congestion at NAWC 

ports, will no doubt guide the 

decision-making process regarding 

construction of a mega-port 

on the Baja California peninsula, 

as will the predicted longevity of 

China’s export economy. 

The proposed multi-billion 

dollar gateway would have to be 

heavily China/US-orientated for 

its cargo. It would face the potential 

of future political interference 

at US/Mexico border crossings 

and compete with the probability 

that new technologies and new 

terminal operating systems will be 

introduced at US ports to help 

expand productivity. 

Canal “si” 

It is also possible that Panamanian 

voters will say “yes” to a larger 

Panama Canal, which would allow 

utilisation of today’s post- 

Panamax ships in round-theworld 

and pendulum services. This 

would give greater leverage to 

new container terminals now being 

built in the southern part of 

the US, such as Houston, Texas 

City and Mobile, that could offer 

alternative intermodal gateways. 

Like the proposed Mexican 

project, however, expansion of 

capacity at Panama, most likely 

through the construction of a third 

set of locks, will be a multi-billion 

dollar effort taking from seven 

to 10 years minimum to complete. 

As agriculturalists in Panama have 

also pointed out, a third lock system 

would require an expanded 

volume of stored water to operate, 

and this would be at the expense 

of land holders. 

Other possibilities 

Other Mexican ports have been 

offered as “shortcuts” into the US 

market, despite the fact that more 

Mexican-bound cargo currently 

passes through US ports than the 

other way around. 

Officials with the Secretariat 

of Communication and Transportation 

suggest that the small port 

of Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, 

could become a marine 

gateway for Arizona. There are existing 

road and rail links to the US 

state from Guaymas, which today 

has five breakbulk and bulk piers. 

Another proposal is to turn the 

Port of Altamira, located on the 

Gulf of Mexico, into a “backdoor” 

gate for European exports headed 

to Southern California. But this 

would require construction of a 

new railway line across Mexico’s 

continental divide, a project costed 

at several billion dollars. 

Railbridge 

Another cross-continent line has 

been suggested in the southern 

part of the country to link the 

ports of Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos 

with high capacity rail. A 

railway line already exists between 

the two ports, and its use has been 


Ro-ro services connect the Mexican mainland with the Baja California peninsula 

suggested several times as an alternative 

to the Panama Canal, but 

the track is not up to the task of 

high speed traffic and container 

facilities at both ports are limited. 

Salina Cruz has just one berth and 

crane, while Coatzacoalcos is predominantly 

a petroleum products 

and ro-ro port. 

Coatzacoalcos, located on a 

river estuary, has a history of heavy 

silting but it has served as the 

southern terminus of CG Railway’s 

rail ferry service to Mobile, 

Alabama since 2000. Last year CG, 

(owned by New Orleans-based 

International Corp) announced it 

planned to move the Mobile operation 

to the Elaine Street Wharf 

at the Port of New Orleans. 

Elaine Street is backed by a 60acre 

industrial area that has remained 

unused since the port 

closed its Public Bulk Terminal 

there more than a decade ago. 

Before August’s Hurricane Katrina 

the State of Louisiana upgraded 

rail trackage and infrastructure at 

the site while CG opened a new 

ferry pier, allowing its service to 

be shifted from Mobile in July. 

Prior to the move, CG had 

been transporting around 10,500 

rail cars annually between Mexico 

and the US using two 585ft long 

self-propelled vessels, BALI SEA and 

BANDA SEA, each with a capacity 

for 60 rail cars. 

Service capacity was expected 

to be expanded to 25,000 cars annually 

at the larger New Orleans 

facility, but Katrina’s devastation 

there may delay this goal being 

reached for some time, especially 

if there is further storm damage 

this year. ❏ 

Despite more container cranes being deployed on the Pacific coast, carriers such 

as MSC still use geared tonnage to serve Mexican ports 

October 2005


Hurricane forces getting more powerful? 

Ports are likely to face much higher insurance 

costs in the aftermath of hurricane 

Katrina, but in any case there is 

mounting concern over the apparent increasing 

frequency and severity of hurricanes. 

A recent paper in Nature magazine 

argues that hurricanes in the Atlantic and 

Pacific regions are more than twice as destructive 

as they were 30 years ago.* 

Kerry Emanuel challenges the common 

view that a 10 degC increase in 

tropical ocean temperature should increase 

peak hurricane winds by five per 

cent. Constructing a “power dissipation 

index” (PDI) to measure the total dissipation 

of power over the lifetime of the 

hurricane, he finds a “more than doubling 

of North Atlantic and western North 

Pacific PDI over the past 30 years.” 

He finds duration has increased by 

“roughly 60 per cent since 1949” and 

annual average storm peak wind speed by 

about 50 per cent over the same period. 

Importantly, trends in the PDI over 30 

years closely mirror trends in the sea surface 

temperature. Recorded temperatures 

increased by 0.5 degC over the same period, 

suggesting the affect of global warming 

on hurricane strength is much 

stronger than previously thought. 

Dramatic findings 

The findings are dramatic and have been 

interpreted by general news media as evidence 

that global warming has doubled 

the strength of hurricanes, but they have 

to be carefully considered in the context 

of container crane design and safety issues. 

A recent spate of crane losses and 

damage in hurricanes and wind events has 

sparked concern that wind is becoming 

an increasing problem and crane standards 

might be inadequate, but there is no 

real evidence that this is the case. 

Emanuel notes that “basic theory establishes 

a quantitative upper bound on 

hurricane intensity, as measured by maximum 

surface wind speed, and empirical 

studies show that when accumulated over 

large enough samples, the statistics of 

hurricane intensity are strongly controlled 

by this theoretical potential intensity.” 

In other words the evidence is that average 

wind speed during hurricanes is increasing 

as is the duration of the storms 

themselves, but not the peak wind speed. 

What should concern the industry is 

the implication that “one-in-x-years” 

weather events are becoming more common 

and hurricanes are lasting longer, 

covering a wider area and maintaining 

more strength when they hit shore. Therefore, 

container yards, buildings and other 

structures not specifically designed to 

withstand hurricanes are more likely, if 

Emanuel’s thesis is correct, to suffer damage 

than they were in the past. 

Crane design 

Commenting on what Emanuel’s findings 

mean for crane design Patrick 

McCarthy, structural designer with 

Liftech Consultants, Inc (LCI) in Oakland 

(Ca), explains that “today’s structural crane 

design for hurricane storm wind is typically 

based on a 50-year mean recurrence 

interval, 3-s gust wind speed, based on 

the ASCE-7 standard. 

Crane structures designed for the US 

East and Gulf coasts 30 years ago were 

typically designed to a somewhat conservative 

full-height-wind pressure, as less 

information was available at the time. Statistically, 

there is a 45 per cent chance that 

a structure will experience a 50-year MRI 

wind speed in 30 years. This means that 

nearly half of the cranes designed 30 years 

ago have likely already been hit with a 

50-year MRI wind, and have survived.” 

However, if hurricanes are lasting 

longer and hitting harder it follows that 

cranes will be more likely to experience 

peak design speeds over their lifetime. 

“The 50-year MRI represents a two per 

cent likelihood of a storm hitting a given 

location in any given year. If the likelihood 

of a hurricane hitting a location 

increases due to storms lasting longer, we 

would expect the ASCE-7 wind standard 

to gradually increase in hurricane regions,” 

said McCarthy. 

If the 50-year wind speed increases or 

there is evidence that actual peak wind 

* Increasing Destructiveness of Tropical 

Cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature, 

Vol436/4 August 2005, Kerry Emanuel, 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

speeds are increasing then McCarthy says 

overturning moments will need to be 

reconsidered. Overturning moments are 

proportional to wind speed squared. 

“A small increase in wind speed can 

cause a significant increase in tie-down 

uplift force, especially if the factored overturning 

and righting moments are similar 

in magnitude,” says McCarthy. 

However, in the absence of any hard 

information that peak winds are increas- 

ing, both McCarthy and Rich Phillips 

from Casper Phillips & Associates (CP&A) 

in Tacoma (Wa) independently emphasise 

their main concerns are in the area of 

the tie-down system and the attachment 

to the wharf structure in particular. 

“We have reviewed many hurricanerelated 

failures worldwide and have not 

seen a single crane structure fail first in a 

hurricane. In our experience, the tiedown 

system has always been the weak 

link. Most failures that we’ve investigated 

would have likely failed at wind speeds 

well below their respective design wind 

speeds due to design or fabrication deficiencies, 

or both,” says McCarthy. 

CP&A’s experience of accidents over 

the last decade is that the primary cause 

of the accident is the failure of the tiedown 

embedment in the dock. “We have 

not seen a case where a properly sized 

turnbuckle has failed,” said Phillips. “Most 

of the time, the embedments were not 

properly constructed and the actual pullstrength 

was much lower than the design.” 

Proof not hard to find 

A comparison between Typhoon Maemi 

and Katrina bears out this point precisely. 

Maemi felled nine cranes but the rest of 

the terminals suffered little damage. Port 

of New Orleans CEO Gary LaGrange 


news 

described a very different situation at the 

port’s Napoleon Avenue container terminal 

after Katrina. The terminal was littered 

with “pancaked” containers but the 

cranes were still standing, although some 

of the sides had been blown off the cabs. 

LCI’s view is that “ideally tie-down 

wharf hardware should be load tested after 

installation.” CP&A adds that this is 

seldom undertaken, but “we believe it 

would be prudent for ports subject to hurricanes, 

typhoons or cyclones to test the 

dock embedments by pulling on them 

and verifying they can develop the design 

strength. 

“If a hurricane comes, adds CP&A, 

it will perform the same pull test on 

the embedment and the consequence 

of failure is slightly more catastrophic 

than during a controlled test.” ❏ 

October 2005 29


news 

Rebuilding ports after Katrina 

Within a one month span, hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita have impacted 

over 20 ports in the Gulf 

of Mexico that are members of 

AAPA and many other private and 

public ports in the region. The 

impact of these hurricanes has 

varied, with the largest impact on 

the ports of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama 

and Mississippi. 

For several ports, including 

New Orleans, the impact has been 

considerable. Some of the facilities 

may need to be relocated and 

it will take months if not years to 

recover fully. In New Orleans, we 

are only 20 per cent operational. 

Vital rôle 

US ports and waterways handle 

over 2 bill tons of cargo annually. 

Much of that commerce flows 

through the impacted ports in 

Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and 

Mississippi. These ports are heavily 

linked to the USA’s petroleum, 

grain, other agri-products, fruit, 

poultry, coffee, chemical and steel 

trades. The Port of New Orleans 

serves as the focal point for 

30 

● Maintenance Services 

● Refurbishments 

● Relocations 

● Offload & Assembly 

This is an edited version of a statement 

made last month by Gary P 

LaGrange, president and CEO of the 

Port of New Orleans and current 

chairman of the American Association 

of Port Authorities (AAPA) to the US 

Senate Committee on Finance in 

relation to the community rebuilding 

needs in the aftermath of hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita. It was released 

through AAPA’s communications 

director Aaron E Ellis 

waterborne transport of cargo to 

28 states. That cargo activity supported 

$37 bill in economic benefits 

to the country and generated 

$2.8 bill in federal tax revenue. 

Agricultural products from 17 

Midwestern states flow through 

the Mississippi River. Over half of 

US grain exports depart from 

ports impacted by Katrina. Oil, 

agriculture and chemicals rely 

heavily on the infrastructure provided 

in these port areas. 

Chicken run 

Additionally, these Gulf ports serve 

as one of the USA’s largest gateways 

for poultry exports. The in- 

Gary P LaGrange 

ability to handle frozen poultry 

products through unique dockside 

facilities would affect the industry 

worldwide. Estimates for the 

Port of New Orleans shows that 

relying on less efficient means to 

transport these products would increase 

costs by $7-to-$8/ton, 

which would make US poultry 

products uncompetitive in the international 

marketplace. 

Steel is another commodity 

handled by the Port of New Or- 

ECC 

East Coast Cranes & Electrical Contracting, Inc 

Specializing in Port Facilities Serving the Americas 

Cranes, RTGs, RMGs 

Straddle Carriers 

Electrical 

Contracting 

● Crane Feeders 

● Yard Lighting 

● High Voltage Distribution 

● Reefer Receptacles 

NEW IN 2005 

● Port Technical Training Institute 

● 5,400 Sq. ft training Facility in Elizabeth, NJ 

● Hands on training programs for Port Maintenance Personnel 

leans. The cost of diverting steel 

imports from New Orleans would 

increase their price by an estimated 

$80 to $90/tonne because 

of reduced access to inland barge 

and rail transportation systems and 

associated delay costs. 

Key points 

There are several factors that are 

important for the recovery of the 

Port of New Orleans: 

● quickly reopening the channel 

● restoring communications 

● getting a power source (electrical 

or fuel-generated) 

● manpower 

● repairing facilities and intermodal 

connections. 

Hurricane Katrina completely 

shut down the Port of New Orleans. 

The port has limited electricity, 

water, sewage and other 

services and its terminals were severely 

damaged by storms and 

subsequent flooding. 

The total closure of the port 

affected not only the economy 

of southeast Louisiana, but the 

whole country. In 2004 alone, 

Telecom & Security 

Systems 

● Gate Systems 

● Security Systems 

● Camera Systems 

● Scanners 

Website: www.eastcoastcranes.com 

Email: Sales@eastcoastcranes.com 

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Fax: 732-683-1433 

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more than 380,000 jobs in the 

US were dependent on cargo 

activity at the port. 

Struggling 

The port is currently operating at 

only 20 per cent of its pre-Katrina 

level. It is still struggling with a 

limited workforce and the ability 

to move the cargo in and out of 

the port. Intermodal connections 

are still a challenge. Mississippi and 

some Texas ports face similar problems. 

The roads and rails need to 

be repaired and/or rebuilt, and 

workers need basic housing in 

order to work long-term. 

Another challenge will be 

cleaning up the ports. As well as 

wind damage, several ports impacted 

by Katrina and Rita have 

spoiled cargoes that must be disposed 

of and storage sheds that 

must be replaced or repaired. 

Based upon post-Katrina engineering 

and other studies, the 

Port of New Orleans estimates 

that $1.7 bill is needed to rehabilitate, 

replace and/or improve 

port facilities damaged by Katrina 

and Rita. Other ports in Louisiana, 

Alabama, Texas and Mississippi 

also face substantial costs to repair 

and rebuild facilities. 

The Port of New Orleans is 

the primary economic engine for 

the region. If it returns to full operations, 

the region will follow. 

With repaired port and intermodal 

infrastructure and a return of 

the workforce, the port will be a 

major factor in the business and 

economic revitalisation so desperately 

required for the region. 

AAPA has surveyed members 

impacted by Katrina and Rita to 

determine what extra help they 

can recommend the federal government 

provide during natural 

disasters to get ports up and running 

quickly. Four recommendations 

relate to the Army Corps of 

Engineers: 

● Pre-position generators to public 

ports to restore trade quickly 

● Repair and restore jetties damaged 

by storms to ensure safe entry 

● Provide engineering analysis of 

damaged and remaining structures 

at public ports 

● Revise legislation which limits 

the Corps’ ability to accept FEMA 

funds and additional missions. 

Unprecedented 

Katrina struck an unprecedented 

blow against New Orleans and 

other areas of the Gulf Coast. The 

New Orleans area has been depopulated, 

leaving no revenue base 

for some municipal bondholders 

to rely on for repayment. Legislation 

is needed to help make pay- 


Immediate post-Katrina aerial shots of New Orleans’ Industrial Canal zone 

(above) and the Port of Gulfport, by US Navy and NOAA respectively 

ments and ensure adequate access 

to capital markets in the future. 

Federal guarantees must be allowed 

behind certain municipal 

bonds to allow tax exempt borrowing 

for reconstruction. In addition, 

temporary relief should be 

granted from provisions of the tax 

code related to tax-exempt bonds 

which normally inhibit their issuance. 

The port also believes that 

limits on bonding caps for public 

or private entities in the region 

should be waived. 

Other disasters 

While Katrina was a huge national 

disaster, there have been other disasters, 

both natural and man-made, 

that have impacted US ports. Several 

ports in Florida were surveyed 

about the impact of hurricanes 

and the federal response. 

Last year several hurricanes hit 

Florida ports. The storms moved 

a large amount of sand into entrance 

channels. As in New Orleans, 

the Coast Guard and the 

Corps of Engineers worked cooperatively 

and quickly to do 

emergency dredging, but for some 

ports funding was a problem. 

In California, the biggest natural 

disaster threat is from earthquakes. 

The Port of Oakland reports 

that it took almost a year to 

fix the damage caused by the 

earthquake of October 1989. 

Public agencies such as the 

Port of Oakland looked to FEMA 

as a principal source of funds for 

recovery from national disasters. 

FEMA may grant funds to public 

agencies up to 75 per cent of the 

damages or losses incurred. 

In California, the State picks 

up 75 per cent of the non-federal 

portion, leaving the local agency 

the burden of the remaining 6.25 

per cent of the costs. FEMA came 

in quickly to assess the damage and 

develop a preliminary assessment 

of the earthquake’s damage. 

Wide gap 

There was a chasm, however, between 

port and FEMA estimates 

on the cost of recovery. A San 

Francisco newspaper reported that 

this was not unique. Part of the 

problem may have been a lack of 

relevant training and experience 

among FEMA inspectors. 

The newspaper noted that all 

FEMA estimates were far below 

city estimates. The reimbursement 

process also was lengthy and could 

be improved. The port expedited 

it to get the repairs going quickly 

and often this does not work well 

with the FEMA requirements. 

Streamlining the reimbursement 

process would help. ❏ 

October 2005

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news 

32 


RTG production soars to record high 

A record-breaking 679 RTGs are 

due for delivery in 2005 and 530 

are already booked for 2006 

The latest WorldCargo News survey 

of yard gantry crane manufacture 

confirms that RTG production 

will again break all records 

in 2005 and is staying strong for 

2006. A massive 679 RTGs were 

booked for delivery throughout 

2005, according to data held at late 

third quarter, while 530 are already 

due next year. This compares with 

565 delivered in 2004 and 402 

during 2003. RTG output has 

therefore jumped by a further 20 

per cent during 2005, after rising 

40 per cent in the preceding year. 

This increase is greater in value 

terms, as higher steel costs have 

pushed up average RTG prices by 

over 20 per cent during 2005, to 

well above US$1 mill per unit. 

Overall output could still be 

greater in 2005, as some additional 

fast-track orders may yet be placed 

in the final quarter and possibly 

lift the final delivery figure to 

nearer 700. The overall total for 

2006 is already certain to substantially 

exceed 2005, given that there 

is still plenty of time for additional 

contracts to be placed for conclusion 

that year. 

Supply base strong 

Despite the rapid increase in output, 

there is no shortage of global 

manufacturing capacity and few 

of the order backlogs witnessed in 

past years. Most top suppliers, 

headed by market leader, Shanghai 

Zhenhua Port Machinery Co 

(ZPMC), have increased RTG 

production capability, either by 

expanding their main plants, setting 

up offshore subsidiaries, or 

entering into further foreign collaboration 

or license agreements. 

�� 

Table 1: Summary of known contracts for RTGs due for completion during 2005-6 and onward (data current for 3Q/2005) 

Supplier Customer/Location No Delivery SWL/Lift Height Span Wheels Drive/Type Spreader 

Doosan HI Global Ent 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Siemens ac RAM 

Doosan HI Korea Express 3 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Siemens ac RAM 

Doosan HI PP-2 Singapore 42 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Yaskawa ac RAM 

Doosan HI PP-2 Singapore 80 2006 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Yaskawa ac RAM 

Noell China Xiangyu Xiamen 5 1Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac 

Noell China Shanghai Waigaoqiao 6 1Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac Elme 

Noell China Shekou CT III 12 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac 

Noell China Haitian Xiamen 12 2Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac Elme 

Noell China QHC Quanzhou 3 2Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac Noell 

Noell China Ningo Beilun IV 28 2Q-3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac Noell/Elme 

Noell China Ningbo Daxie 9 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac Noell 

Noell Group P&O Chennai 4 1Q/05 40.5t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac RAM 

Noell Group P&O Qasim 2 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Noell-Siemens ac RAM 

Reggiane CCT (P&O) Vancouver 14 1Q/06 40.7t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 GE ac Bromma 

Reggiane MSC Valencia 16 2006 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 

FELS Cranes PAT Bangkok 6 2005 35t/1 over 3 4 +1 16 

FELS Cranes CONCOR Tughlakbad 2 2005 40t/1 over 4 7 +1 16 ABB ac Bromma 

FELS Cranes CONCOR Dhandari Kalan 2 2005 40t/1 over 4 7 +1 16 ABB ac Bromma 

FELS Cranes NBCT Penang 8 2005 40t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 Siemens ac Bromma 

FELS Cranes Northport Klang 4 2006 40t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 ABB ac Bromma 

FELS Cranes PA Kolkata 5 2006 40t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 ABB ac Bromma 

Gulf Port Cranes Marport, Harita 25 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 16 ac Bromma 

Gulf Port Cranes PA Mautirius 4 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Gulf Port Cranes Hutchison, Gdynia 4 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Gulf Port Cranes RGCT Kochi 4 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Hyundai Samho Dongbang, Busan 3 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 11 +1 16 Seoho ac Bromma 

Hyundai Samho Kukje, Busan 1 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 11 +1 16 Seoho ac Bromma 

Impsa TPT Tanjung Pelepas 15 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 IMPSA-Siemens ac Bromma 

Impsa Tecon Rio Grande 4 1Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 IMPSA-Siemens ac Bromma 

Kalmar LCB1 Laem Chabang 3 2005 40t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar Liscont, Lisbon 2 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 16 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar OPCSA Las Palmas 4 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac - 

Kalmar TerCat Barcelona 3 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac - 

Kalmar Kumport, Istanbul 1 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar KPA Mombasa 6 2005 45t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 ac Bromma 

Kalmar Santos 5 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 16 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar Shanghai Yangshan 3 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar Cosco, Yangzhou 2 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar TPS Valparaiso 2 2005 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar CTA Athus 1 2005 40t/1 over 3 9 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar Global NY&NJ 2 2005 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar TCT Bandar Abbas 1 2005 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar BCT Gdynia 5 2005-6 40t/1 over 5 5 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar TCP Paranaguá 3 2006 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar ESLCT Laem Chabang 2 2006 41t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 ac Kalmar 

Kalmar MCT Tallinn 2 2006 40t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar PA Sudan 4 2006 40t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar Mardas, Ambarli 6 2006 40t/1 over 6 9 +1 16 ac Bromma 

Kalmar BACTSSA Buenos Aires 4 2006 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar SCT Bandar Abbas 5 2006 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar GTI Nhava Sheva 29 2006 50t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 ac - 

Kalmar SPRC Cartagena 8 2006 50t/1 over 6 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar undisclosed 3 2006 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Kalmar undisclosed 3 2006 40t/1 over 5 8 +1 8 ac Bromma 

Konecranes MarVal Valencia 3 2Q/05 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes APMT New York 4 2Q/05 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Stinis 

Konecranes PA Houston 7 2Q/05 50LT/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes PATT Point Lisas 3 3Q/05 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes BNSF LA Hobart 2 3Q/05 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Elme 

Konecranes Multi-Link, St Petersburg 2 4Q/05 40t/1 over 6 7 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes CMA-CGM Malta Freeport 10 4Q/05 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Konecranes ac Elme 

Konecranes APMT Los Angeles 11 2005-6 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes Bayport, Houston 12 2006 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes GPA Savannah 10 2006 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes APMT Tacoma 2 2006 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac 

Konecranes P&ON Los Angeles 5 2006 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac Bromma 

Konecranes SPA Charleston 16 05-11/2006 50LT/1 over 5 6 + 1 16 Konecranes ac 

Konecranes undisclosed 4 2006 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Konecranes ac 

Konecranes undisclosed 9 2006 40t/1 over 5 6 + 1 16 Konecranes ac 

Konecranes undisclosesd 8 2006 50t/1over 5 6 + 1 8 Konecranes ac 

Liebherr Khorfakkan 6 2Q/05-2Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 7 +1 16 Liebherr dc Bromma 

Liebherr Termont Montreal 2 2Q/05 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Liebherr dc Bromma 

Liebherr Cast Montreal 3 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Liebherr dc Bromma 

Liebherr DFT Dublin 1 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 Liebherr ac Bromma 

Liebherr Petrolesport St Petersburg 2 2Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 16 Liebherr ac Bromma 

Mitsubishi ACHC Alexandria 2 2Q/05 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 8 Fuji ac MHI 

Mitsubishi JPB Johor 3 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MHI 

Mitsubishi TCB Nagoya 12 4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Fuji ac MHI 

Mitsubishi NUCT Nagoya 1 4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Fuji ac MHI 

Mitsui ESB Aomi, Tokyo 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB TIPS Laem Chabang 2 1Q/05 37t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac Bromma 

Mitsui ESB Husky CT Tacoma 2 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB ITS Long Beach 5 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB NUCT Nagoya 1 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB Suzue Yokohama 6 2Q-3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB TTI Long Beach 9 2Q-4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB Evergreen Kaohsiung 12 4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB PA Hibikinada 7 2005-6 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB Exolgan, Buenos Aires 3 1Q/06 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB TICT Tokyo 2 1Q/06 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

Mitsui ESB Daito Tokyo 2 1Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Fuji ac MES 

SPMP Shanghai Yangshan 8 1Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac Elme 

SPMP PA Yingkou 10 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac SPMP 

SPMP PA Tianjin 2 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac SPMP 

SPMP XICT Xiamen 5 4Q/05 41t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac Elme 

Sumitomo PA Da Nang 2 1Q/05 36t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 ac Sumitomo 

TCM NYK Kaohsiung 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM “Sankyu, Kobe” 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM NUCT Nagoya 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM PA Tomakomai 1 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM “Kamigumi, Tokyo” 1 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM MOL Kobe 2 2Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM “K-Line, Tokyo” 2 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM PA Yokohama 2 3Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM YCB Yokkaichi 5 4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 8 Yaskawa ac TCM 

TCM “Kamignmi, Fukuyama” 1 4Q/05 40.6t/1 over 4 6 +1 16 Yaskawa ac TCM 

ZPMC PA Rizhao 4 1Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC MTC Los Angeles 6 1Q/05 40LT/1 over 4 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC SPCC Shanghai 2 1Q/05 6t/1 over 8 14 +1 Yaskawa ac ZPMC 

ZPMC SPCC Shanghai 3 1Q/05 6t/1 over 2 3 +1 Yaskawa ac ZPMC 

October 2005


ZPMC has increased its crane 

building capacity by progressively 

enlarging existing facilities in 

China, while Kalmar has opened 

a new manufacturing subsidiary in 

Shanghai. Fantuzzi Noell Group 

is similarly stepping up production 

at the Noell China factory. 

The former Noell Preussag 

IMAC plant in Abu Dhabi now 

trades independently as Gulf Port 

Cranes (IMCC/Gulf Piping ) and 

has won sizeable orders. Doosan 

HI has also increased production 

at its home site, while capacity has 

been augmented by Konecranes, 

TCM, FELS and Impsa. 

Big series 

In all 14 suppliers have been building 

RTGs during 2005, only nine 

of which have supplied details of 

production planned for 2006. The 

current tally for 2006 is distorted 

by several very large orders - most 

notably one covering 80 RTGs for 

PSA Pasir Panjang Phase 2. 

Yet others concern 42 RTGs 

for Yantian, 29 for Gateway Terminal 

India (GTI), 23 for MTL 

(CT9) in Hong Kong, and 21 for 

Felixstowe. This combined business 

alone makes up almost 40 per 

cent of deliveries currently 

planned for 2006, and has likely 

been notified ahead of many 

smaller contracts requiring a 

shorter production time. 

Notwithstanding the trend towards 

larger “rolling” production 

runs, this year has witnessed the 

placing of a record number of individual 

contracts. The total numbered 

over 100 for the first time, 

with very few terminal customers 

purchasing their RTGs from 

more than one supplier. 

Amongst the exceptions were 

Ningbo Daxie, Shanghai Yangshan 

and NUCT Nagoya, each of 

which sourced from at least two 

different names. Most deliveries in 

2005 have concerned batches of 

less than a dozen cranes, although 

the year was marked by a few large 

orders, again headed by Singapore, 

which took 42 RTGs in two lots. 

Other ports to receive over 20 

RTGs in a single (or repeat) batch 

were Jebel Ali, Shanghai Yangshan, 

Ningbo (Beilun CT), Marport 

and Lianyangang. 

ZPMC has accounted for a big 

share of the above, alongside 

Doosan HI and Gulf Port Cranes. 

ZPMC is carrying out three of the 

largest contracts to be notified so 

far for 2006, although Doosan has 

again secured the biggest single 

order (PSA) and Kalmar Industries 

is to supply the new GTI project. 

ZPMC’s position of strength 

is underpinned by the importance 

of the Chinese RTG market. Ports 

there have long accounted for the 

majority of contracts, taking over 

35 per cent of all RTG deliveries 

in 2004 and 43 per cent in 2005. 

The latter equated to almost 300 

RTGs and over 100 are already 

due for delivery in 2006. No other 

single country, or even region, 

comes close to rivalling the purchasing 

rounds of the Chinese. 

Standing tall 

The 1 over 5 RTG is now the 

standard for most ports, both in 

China and elsewhere, displacing its 

1 over 4 counterpart. It made up 

over 60 per cent of deliveries in 

2004 and due for 2005, and nearer 

70 per cent of those so far planned 

for 2006. The latter already 

amounts to over 340 cranes, and 

compares with 422 delivered in 

2005 and 361 in 2004. The global 

manufacture of out-sized RTGs, 

stacking 1 over 6 or 1 over 7, is 

also increasing and topped 100 

units for the first time in 2005. 

A total of 129 units of these 

heights are scheduled to enter 

service, 91 of which will stack 1 

over 6. A further 119 are already 

contracted for 2006 delivery, including 

101 stacking 1 over 6. In 

2004, the combined total was 85, 


news 

Supplier Customer/location No. Delivery SWL/Lift height Span Wheels Drive type Spreader 

ZPMC WHCT Zhangjiagang 2 1Q/05 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC PA Gwadar 2 1Q/05 40t/1 over 4 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC CCT Chiwan 12 1Q/05 50LT/1 over 6 6 +1 Yaskawa ac RAM 

ZPMC CCT Chiwan 14 2Q/05 50LT/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac RAM 

ZPMC HIT Hong Kong 8 2Q/05 41t/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC ICT Inchon 2 2Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 ABB ac ZPMC 

ZPMC FQW Quanzhou 3 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC DPCT Dalian 12 2Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC PSCCH Port Said 2 2Q/05 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC Ningbo Daxie 3 2Q/05 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac Bromma 

ZPMC Shenzhen Mawan 12 2Q/05 50LT/1 over 6 6 +1 Yaskawa ac RAM 

ZPMC Guangzhou Xinsha 6 2Q/05 40.5t/1 over 5 6 +1 Yaskawa ac ZPMC 

ZPMC Sun Kwang Inchon 2 2Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC SPS Salalah 8 3Q/05 40LT/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC PA Nansha 16 3Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC KPA Mombasa 4 3Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac Bromma 

ZPMC Shekou CT III 12 3Q/05 40.5t/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji-Yaskawa ac ZPMC 

ZPMC TSI Vancouver 8 3Q/05 60LT/1 over 5 7 +1 ABB ac - 

ZPMC NOCT Lianyangang 20 4Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC LBCT Long Beach 6 4Q/05 50LT/1 over 5 6 +1 ABB ac Bromma 

ZPMC SSA Seattle 8 4Q/05 50.8LT1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC Tecon Suape 2 4Q/05 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC NCCT Qinzhou 3 4Q/05 40LT1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC Yang Ming Terminals 2 4Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC PA Beirut 4 4Q/05 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 ABB ac ZPMC 

ZPMC ACT Aqaba 4 4Q/05 50t/1 over 5 7 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac - 

ZPMC SPCT Shanghai 10 4Q/05 40t/1 over 4 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC PA Huizhou 2 4Q/05 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC THCC Tianjin 4 4Q/05 50.8t/1 over 4 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC DCT Dalian 17 1Q/05-2Q/06 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC DPA Jebel Ali 54 2Q/05-1Q/06 41t/1 over 7 6 +1 Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC PCT Pyeong Taek 7 2Q/05-4Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC Shanghai Yangshan 48 3Q/05-2Q/06 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC TICT Taicang 11 3Q/05-2Q/06 40LT/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC HKTL Busan 3 1Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC HKTL Busan 9 3Q/06 40.6t/1 over 5 6 +1 Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC SAOG Sultan Qaboos 2 1Q/06 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC China Shipping Zhanjiang 2 1Q/06 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC HLCT Laem Chabang 9 1Q/06 40.6t/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac Bromma 

ZPMC Libra CT Santos 7 1Q/06 40t/1 over 6 6 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC PA Felixstowe 21 1Q-2Q/06 40t/1 over 5 7 +1 Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC SCCHC Port Said 14 1Q-3Q/06 50t/1 over 5 7 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac - 

ZPMC PICT Karachi 6 1Q-3Q/06 40LT/1 over 5 7 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC MIT Coco Solo 12 2Q/06 50LT/1 over 6 6 +1 ABB ac ZPMC 

ZPMC QCT Fuzhou 2 2Q/06 40.5t/1 over 4 6 +1 Yaskawa ac Bromma 

ZPMC JCT Fuzhou 10 2Q and 4Q/06 40.5t/1 over 4 6 +1 Yaskawa ac 5 and Fuji ac 5 Bromma 

ZPMC Evergreen Los Angeles 3 2Q/06 40LT/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac - 

ZPMC PA Chittagong 3 2Q/06 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac ZPMC 

ZPMC ACCHC Alexandria 2 3Q/06 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 ZPMC-Siemens ac Elme 

ZPMC YICT Yantian 12 3Q/06 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Yaskawa ac RAM 

ZPMC YICT Yantian 30 3Q/06 41t/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac RAM 

ZPMC CCT Coco Solo 2 3Q/06 40LT/1 over 5 6 +1 Fuji ac - 

ZPMC KIT Kwangyang 1 3Q/06 41t/1 over 5 6 +1 Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC APMT Algeciras 17 3Q/06 50t/1 over 5 6 +1 Siemens ac 

ZPMC MTL Hong Kong 23 4Q/06 50LT/1 over 6 6 +1 Fuji ac Bromma 

October 2005 33


news 

Table 2: Summary of known contracts for RMGs due for completion in 2005-6 and onwards (data current for third quarter 2005)* 

Supplier Customer/Location No Delivery SWL/Lift Height Span Drive/Type Spreader 

Baltkran ICT, St Petersburg 1 3Q/05 41t/1 over 3 35m Siemens ac RAM 

Doosan HI&C PNCT Busan 81 2005-9 40t/1 over 6 28m Siemens ac RAM 

Gottwald PT AGT Antwerp 4 2Q/06 

Gottwald PT Hupac, Busto III 6 3Q/05 41t/1 over 3 38m Hillgers 

Hans Künz CTA Hamburg 4 2005 42t/1 over 4 31m ABB ac Bromma 

Hans Künz CTA Hamburg 4 2005 42t/1 over 6 40 ABB ac Bromma 

Hans Künz DB Ulm-Nord 2 2005 41t/14m 40m Künz Hilgers 

Hans Künz EMS Dörpen 1 2005 41t/16m 50m Künz Smits 

Hans Künz Ennshafen 1 2005 40t/25m 46m Künz Smits 

Hans Künz WELG Warstein 1 2005 40t/20m 32m Künz Elme 

Hyundai Samho HI Sunkwang Co, Inchon 4 2005 40.6t/1 over 6 36m Seoho ac 

Hyundai Samho HI PNCT Busan 5 2005 50t/1 over 6 28m Seoho ac Bromma 

Kalmar Ind Rotterdam 17 2004-5 40t/13m 20m Kalmar-Siemens ac Stinis 

Konecranes BIFT Brimingham 2 2006 40t/ Konecranes ac 

Konecranes APMT Portsmouth 30 2006-7 40t/1 over 5 6 +1 TM/GE ac 

MAN-Takraf Patrick, Port Botany 5 3Q/05 65t/1 over 3 33m ac Bromma 

SPMP PA Yangshan Luchao 4 4Q/05 40.5t/20m 35m Siemens ac SPMP 

ZPMC KPA Mombasa 2 3Q/05 40t/1 over 5 24m Fuji ac Bromma 

ZPMC ECT Rotterdam 37 2005-6 45t/1 over 3 20m Siemens ac Stinis 

ZPMC GMP Le Havre 1 1Q/06 65t/1 over 5 23m Siemens ac Bromma 

ZPMC GTI Nhava Sheva 3 3Q/06 50t/1 over 3 35m ZPMC-Siemens ac ZPMC 

ZPMC APMT Zeebrugge 2 3Q/06 50t/1 over 3 30m ZPMC-Siemens ac - 

ZPMC Euromax Rotterdam 58 2006-7 40t/1 over 5 32m ABB ac ZPMC 

ZPMC Euromax Rotterdam 2 2006-8 40t/1 over 3 32m ABB ac ZPMC 

* excludes barge-to-shore cranes, listed in earlier survey of ship-to-shore gantry cranes (see WorldCargo News, July 2005, pp20-23) 

only 34 of which were 1 over 6. 

By contrast, production of 1 over 

4 stacking RTGs is largely static, 

amounting to 119 in 2004 (or 21 

per cent of the total) and 128 in 

2005 (19 per cent). Just 26 of this 

size are presently on order for arrival 

in 2006 (5.1 per cent). 

RTG span is more resistant to 

change, as befits its greater importance 

in fixing terminal layout. 

Ports have less scope to alter stack 

lane width than lifting height, and 

so the majority are sticking with 

6 + 1 (around 23.5m). 

Seven up 

In all, 77 RTGs of 7 + 1 width 

will be built in 2005, compared 

with 47 in 2004. Already 80 are 

due for delivery in 2006. Next 

year will also witness a delivery by 

Kalmar of six machines spanning 

9 + 1 to Mardas, Turkey. 

But the 6 + 1 model continues 

to dominate, with 91 per cent 

of output in 2004, 86 per cent in 

2005 and > 75 per cent for 2006. 

These percentages equated to 515 

built in 2004, 585 in 2005, and 390 

already purchased for 2006. 

There is virtually no demand 

for RTGs of smaller span than 6 

+ 1, with BCT Gdynia and PAT 

Bangkok being two exceptions. 

Neither is there any significant 

requirement for machines stacking 

lower than 1 over 4, at least 

not by mainstream maritime or 

inland ports. However, the traditional 

8-wheel RTG model is still 

produced in the greatest numbers, 

with 16-wheelers accounting for 

almost 350 of the total 1185 RTGs 

34 

due for delivery in 2005 and 2006 

to date. Bromma continues to provide 

most RTG spreaders, although 

Ram and Elme have each 

achieved a good showing during 

2005-06 and many RTG manufacturers 

(and particularly Japanese 

companies) are still pushing their 

own in-house designs. 

Clear number one 

The RTG manufacturing sector 

is now dominated by ZPMC, with 

this name meeting a rising 40 per 

cent share of construction carried 

out respectively in 2004 and 2005, 

and 50 per cent of that already 

planned for completion in 2006. 

Its RTG output topped 200 for 

the first time during 2004, having 

jumped over 50 per cent on 2003, 

and will nearly reach 300 in 2005. 

A total of 250 are already 

booked for delivery in 2006. The 

Chinese firm claims cumulative 

orders for more than 1250 RTGs 

since its start-up in the early 1990s, 

but more than 1000 have been 

booked since end-2001. Almost 40 

different terminals were supplied 

globally by ZPMC in 2005, with 

20 already due to receive RTGs 

during the coming year. 

Chinese ports are responsible 

for over 60 per cent of all deliveries 

in 2005, or 187 RTGs, with 

the balance of 98 destined for terminals 

in South Korea, the Americas, 

Mid-East and Africa. Ports in 

China account for 45 per cent of 

ZPMC deliveries currently 

planned for 2006 (115 RTGs). 

This will increase as many domestic 

contracts are placed and ful- 

filled within a relatively short time. 

Nevertheless, the company’s 

foreign sales have already broken 

all records in 2006, as ZPMC will 

deliver at least 135 RTGs to terminals 

in Korea, the Mid-East, 

North and South America and 

North Europe. Mixed in amongst 

the many repeat customers are a 

few names new to ZPMC, including 

Chittagong Port Authority 

and CCT Coco Solo and MIT 

Manzanillo in Panama. 

Pieces of eight 

Most ZPMC RTGs are of 8wheel 

design and feature 1 over 5 

stacking and traditional 6 + 1 span 

width. Machines lifting 1 over 6, 

have been ordered recently by 

DPA Jebel Ali, Yantian, Libra 

Santos and Hutchison Laem 

Chabang, with 7 + 1 spanning 

units destined for Felixstowe, Beirut, 

Alexandria and Karachi. The 

company fits its own spreader to 

most of its RTGs, with much of 

the balance using Bromma. 

The most important RTG 

producer after ZPMC is currently 

Fantuzzi Noell, although this 

group achieved a lower sales volume 

in 2005 than in 2004. The 

company accounted for 18 per 

cent of all RTG deliveries in 2004, 

when it built over 100 units for 

the first time, but nearer 11.5 per 

cent this year (81). With 30 currently 

booked, it contributes just 

six per cent of orders already notified 

for 2006 delivery. 

The Noell China plant is turning 

out 75 RTGs for terminals in 

China this year, with the balance 

for India. Again, most are of 8wheel 

type and feature 40 tonne 

lift, 1 over 5 stacking and 6 + 1 

span, Most ac drive systems are 

usually sourced from Siemens, in 

conjunction in Noell, but spreader 

attachments are increasingly obtained 

from third party suppliers. 

Both KCI Konecranes and 

Kalmar Industries have been hard 

on the heels of Fantuzzi Noell. 

Kalmar has secured sizeable additional 

business, following the 

opening of its new Shanghai assembly 

plant, and is set to achieve 

a record sale of 36 RTGs this year. 

Bookings for the coming year 

are more than double this number, 

with 73 already confirmed for 

2006 delivery. By comparison, 

Kalmar’s earlier RTG deliveries 

averaged around 25/year during 

five years prior to 2005. 

The company is also now selling 

to a more varied customer base 

as well, including 15 different terminals 

in 2005 throughout southern/eastern 

Europe, the Americas, 

Mid-East and Africa, and in China. 

A further dozen have already 

placed orders for delivery in 2006. 

As many are new as are repeat 

customers, with the GTI business 

representing one of Kalmar’s largest 

RTG contracts to date. Almost 

half its recent output is of 16wheel 

type, while most also come 

fitted with Kalmar “Smartrail” 

tracking/positioning system and 

can stack to at least 1 over 5. 

Major player 

Konecranes witnessed a drop in 

output during 2005, as compared 

to 2004, but has just held on to its 

third ranking in terms of recent 

RTG production. Its output of 

over 50 RTGs in 2004 broke all 

previous records and another high 

is forecast for 2006. Deliveries 

planned for that year are already 

up to 70 units, while Konecranes 

is separately constructing 30 

RMGs for delivery to the US. 

Many recent RTGs have also 

been destined for US ports, including 

several new customers on 

the US West Coast (P&O Ports in 

Los Angeles and APMT in Los 

Angeles and Tacoma). The company 

has more recently secured its 

first order to Malta Freeport, now 

managed by CMA-CGM, and 

Point Lisas in Trinidad. The majority 

of Konecranes’ production 

is its 16-wheel model, with 13 8wheel 

RTGs produced in 2005 

and eight so far ordered in 2006. 

Collective RTG output from 

Paceco licensees similarly suffered 

a small decline in 2005 (to 49), 

although they had achieved their 

best production rates in many 

years during 2004, when 66 were 

delivered. Few orders have as yet 

been notified for 2006. 

Mainly from Japan 

An overwhelming share of recent 

Paceco “Transtainer” business has 

been carried out by Mitsui Engineering 

and Shipbuilding (MES), 

with just a small handful coming 

from two other active licensees, 

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries 

and Paceco España. MES has 

clearly benefited from the sizeable 

ongoing business being placed by 

Japanese ports, and is continuing 

to supply various repeat (and new) 

customers in the US as well. 

A relatively large share of MES 

output stacks 1 over 4 and has 8wheels. 

Two exceptions are 

NUCT Nagoya and the new 

Hibikinada development, which 

are specifying 16 wheel machines, 

while 1 over 5 stackers have gone 

to Laem Chabang, TTI Long 

Beach, Evergreen Kaohsiung and 

new customer Exolgán in Buenos 

Aires. The standard ac drive system 

offered by MES is from Fuji 

and all its machines span 6 + 1. 

Most other recent Japanese 

business has been secured by 

TCM, which experienced strong 

demand in 2005 and sold 20 

RTGs in all. This total was only 

beaten previously in 2002, when 

the company supplied 23, and it 

was well up on 2004. Apart from 

two units delivered to Kaohsiung, 

all recent output has gone to terminals 

in Japan and was mostly 

repeat business. Most of TCM’s 

recent output has featured 1 over 

4 stacking, 6 + 1 span and eight 


Table 3: Summary of recent 

RTG and RMG output 

Year RTG RMG 

2001 329 51 

2002 388 68 

2003 402 36 

2004 565 72 

2005 679 72 

2006* 506 191 

*Includes 102 RMGs for 2007-9 

delivery 

wheels. It also incorporates ac 

drives from Yaskawa and TCM’s 

own spreader as standard. 

Much quieter 

TCM’s long-standing rivals, 

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 

(MHI) and Sumitomo Heavy Industries 

(SHI), have been quieter 

this year with neither reporting 

any new orders in recent months. 

SHI delivered just two units, to Vietnam, 

in early 2005. MHI’s better 

showing of 18 is still a far cry 

from 30-40 being delivered annually 

throughout the mid-1990s. 

Another Chinese supplier, 

Shanghai Port Machinery Plant 

(SPMP), which retains some ownership 

link with ZPMC, will 

achieve sales of at least 25 RTGs 

in 2005, which beats its former 

record of 22 achieved in 2003. All 

are destined for ports in China and 

mostly stack 1 over 4. They are also 

8-wheelers, offering 40-tonne lift, 

6 + 1 span and Yaskama ac drives. 

Most remaining suppliers are 

relatively small in terms of the 

volumes being produced or size 

of customer base. Doosan is producing 

RTGs in huge quantity, 

but almost all for PSA. As mentioned, 

it initially won a contract 

for 42 units in late 2004 and secured 

the follow-up business for 

80 more during 2005. 

All are of the same specification 

and feature 16-wheels, Ram 

spreader and Yaskawa drives, although 

the latter, bigger tranche 

attracted a 20 per cent higher price 

for Doosan. All deliveries should 

be concluded before end-2006. 

Amongst other active names 

are Liebherr, which is building for 

repeat customers in Khorfakkan, 

Montreal and Dublin, and for 

Petrolesport in Saint Petersburg. 

It remains one of the few RTG 

producers still offering a dc drive 

(of its own make). Impsa made its 

debut in the RTG sector 2-3 years 

ago. Currently it is working on 15 

large units for Tanjung Pelepas, 

Another “newcomer” is Gulf 

Port Cranes. After announcing its 

attention to bid independently for 

RTG business in 2004, it successfully 

secured orders for 37 units 

from five different terminal sites. 

All are to be supplied in 2005, and 

Table 4: Recent RTG output by supplier* 

Supplier 2004 2005 2006 

ZPMC 224 285 250 

Fantuzzi Noell 102 81 30 

KCI Konecranes 54 38 70 

Kalmar Industries 25 36 73 

Doosan HI 4 47 80 

Paceco licensees 66 49 8 

FELS Cranes 26 18 9 

SPMC 16 25 - 

Gulfport Cranes - 37 - 

TCM 6 20 - 

Impsa 7 15 4 

Mitsubishi HI 7 18 - 

Liebherr CC 6 8 6 

Sumitomo HI 18 2 - 

Others 4 - - 

Total 565 679 530 

* Ranked according to cumulative delivery from 2004 onward 

Table 5: Recent RMG output by supplier* 

Supplier 2004 2005 2006** 

ZPMC 8 15 90 

Doosan HI - 16 65 

KCI Konecranes 1 - 32 

Hans Künz 12 13 - 

Baltkran 25 1 - 

Kalmar Industries 16 1 - 

Hyundai Samho HI - 9 - 

Gottwald PT 1 6 4 

Othersº 9 11 - 

Total 72 72 191 

* Ranked according to cumulative deliveries from 2004 onward 

** Includes 49 units from ZPMC and 49 from Doosan for 2007-9 delivery 

October 2005


KCI Konecranes has secured another order from 

SPA Charleston, this time for 16 RTG-16s. 

The deal is worth more than US$25 mill 

will feature 1 over 5 stack and spreaders 

from Bromma. The biggest contract has 

been placed by Marport, Turkey which 

specified 16-wheelers spanning 7 + 1. 

In the hands of the few 

Global RMGs manufacture is also continuing 

strong, but remains more erratic 

than for the RTG sector and extremely 

disparate in terms of contract sizes placed. 

Overall output is expected to be the same 

this year as last but will likely increase 

sharply again in 2006 and then hold steady 

throughout 2007 and 2008. Already a 

record 89 RMGs are destined for 2006 

delivery, compared with 72 in 2005, 72 

in 2004 and just 36 during 2003. A further 

43 are each forecast to arrive in 2007 

and 2008 and 16 are booked for 2009. 

This sizeable forward booking of 

RMGs is explained by several very substantial 

rolling contracts, some of which 

are due to continue to run for up to four 

more years. The largest is an extension of 

earlier business at Pusan Newport Container 

Terminal (PNC) with Doosan and 

will now cover a total delivery of 81 

robotised RMGs, at an average rate of 16 

per year, between 2005 and 2009. Another 

concerns 60 robotised RMGs, placed 

with ZPMC or the planned Euromax 

development in Rotterdam. 

In addition, 30 robotised units have 

been ordered from Konecranes for the 

new APMT terminal at Portsmouth and 

37 robotised RMGs (ASC type) are going 

to ECT in Rotterdam from ZPMC. 

The latter purchase has been split across 

2005-06 (13 this year and 24 next). 

The APMT business is also for completion 

in 2006, while the Euromax deliveries 

will commence with seven RMGs 

in 2006, and then follow with 26 in 2007 

and 27 in 2008. The vast majority of 

cranes destined for Euromax will stack 1 

over 5, while all feature a wide 32m span, 

ABB drive system and ZPMC’s own 

spreader. The ECT equipment will be of 

the older 1 over 3 specification, spanning 

20m, and come with Siemens ac drives 

and spreader from Stinis. The PNCT 

cranes are high stacking 1 over 6, whereas 

the cranes for APMT will go 1 over 5. 

Huge deals 

The above business includes some of the 

largest contracts ever to be placed for 

RMG equipment, and clearly distorts the 

recent pattern of demand. It has also 

ranked ZPMC, Doosan and Konecranes 

way above all other competitors. Other 

recent RMG business of significance has 

included 17 units contracted earlier from 

Kalmar by ECT, the last of which has just 

been commissioned. 

A further eight robotised RMGs were 

delivered recently (as two sets) by Hans 

Künz to CTA Hamburg, while five from 

Hyundai Samho have gone to PNCT, five 

from MAN-Takraf to Patrick Stevedores, 

at Port Botany, and four also from 

Hyundai Samho to the new Sunkwang 

Terminal at Inchon. Four from Gottwald 

Port Technology are destined next year 

for the new Antwerp Gateway Terminal. 

ZPMC, in addition to its huge Rotterdam 

delivery, can claim four other contracts 

covering eight RMGs delivered in 

2005-06, to Mombasa, Le Havre, GTI and 

Zeebrugge. Konecranes is building two 

widespan RMGs for Roadways Container 

Logistics in Birmingham, England. 

SPMP will shortly release four RMGs 

for a new development in China. Hans 

Künz, in addition to its CTA business, has 

five units going to four different 

intermodal customers in Germany. Producers 

such as Baltkran, Hilgers and 

Fémont have been less active in the past 

year. Baltkran took top ranking in 2004, 

when it supplied 25 RMGs to various 

inland terminals within Russia, but reported 

only one delivered in 2005. ❏ 

The new Gottwald RMGs at Hupac’s 

terminal in northern Italy span 38m with a 

9m cantilever. Lift height is 12.8m and SWL 

is 41 tonnes under the DSD/Hillgers combispreader. 

Long travel speed is 140 m/min. The 

RMGs have a trimming feature, which is useful 

when handling trailers. This is made possible 

by using two hoists specially developed and 

configured by Gottwald. (See last month’s 

WorldCargo News, p18) 

Drive solutions that 

deliver port productivity 

Modern, dynamic container handling systems 

need fast, responsive, AC or DC drive solutions 

to maximise port productivity. 

New projects and retrofit installations – 

talk to Control Techniques, the drive specialists 

● Unique modular approach allows flexibility, redundancy and 

greater up-time 

● Sinewave ‘harmonic-free’ AC line regeneration for energy saving and 

AC supply compatibility 

● Global voltages as standard to 690V and ratings to 1MW 

● Dynamic, synchronised control loops for smooth, constant power 

hoisting and rapid travelling – regardless of load 


news 

EMERSON. CONSIDER IT SOLVED 

October 2005 35


news 

Remote control takes over the yard 

Automated stacking cranes (ASCs) 

are gaining in popularity but automating 

road truck and terminal 

tractor handling still presents difficulties. 

Completing jobs by remote 

control from a central control 

room offers a way to achieve 

real benefits from reduced labour 

costs and introduce automation 

gradually at manned terminals. 

For most of the world’s container 

terminals automation will 

be considered only when operators 

are convinced there is a clear 

migration path that minimises risk 

and offers a good return on investment. 

All major automation 

projects to date have been at purpose-built, 

greenfield sites but 

older terminals need to find a way 

of automating existing equipment 

or introducing automation gradually 

as new phases are developed. 

Open range 

Free ranging automated vehicles 

such as AGVs and robotic straddle 

carriers can only really be introduced 

by zoning the terminal 

into automated and manned ar- 

36 

Remote controlled yard cranes 

feature in several automation 

projects announced recently 

eas. ASCs, however, have the potential 

to be operated alongside 

manned machines in a conventional 

yard layout with RTGs and 

terminal tractors. 

Pusan East Container terminal 

(PECT) in Busan, Korea, has 

taken this route and commissioned 

ATCs (automated transfer cranes) 

from Hyundai Samho Heavy In- 

Cameras and sensors on the trolley of the PECT automated RMG (“automated 

transfer crane” or ATC) along with two of the four fine-positioning winches 

dustries with drive and control 

systems engineered by Seoho 

Electric for the yard system at two 

new berths. PECT did not want 

to commit the capital required to 

introduce an automated yard at 

the whole terminal. Instead it decided 

to incorporate ATCs within 

its existing operation where RTGs 

run parallel with the quay. 

As previously reported, the 

ATCs operate in three blocks behind 

berths 4 and 5. They have a 

28.5m rail gauge and stack 9-wide 

and 6-high. The stack between the 

crane legs is fenced off and road 

chassis and terminal tractors are 

served under separate cantilevers. 

Each cantilever has two lanes, although 

only one is used initially. 

Combining ATCs with RTGs 

where the yard runs parallel to the 

quay presents major challenges. 

The interface between the ASCs 

and road trucks/IMVs is much 

larger than a perpendicular layout 

such as Hamburg or Rotterdam, 

where it is confined to each end 

of the stacking area. Some RTG 

terminals use GPS linked to the 

TOS to track the IMVs, but positioning 

of the RTG and vehicle 

still relies on each driver seeing the 

other machine. 

At PECT a system was needed 

to tell the TOS when a road truck 

had arrived and where along the 

bay it had stopped. When a lorry 

enters the terminal the driver is 

given a swipe card containing job 

details and directed to a crane 

block. The truck lane in each ATC 

block is equipped with six “tipping 

points,” each of which covers 

six bays in the ASC block, 

where the driver must stop and 

swipe the card. This identifies the 

lorry and container to the TOS 

and indicates whether the 

container(s) are 20ft or 40ft or 

front/rear position of two 20fts. 

The process for handling an 

IMV is different in that there is 

no swipe card for the driver and 

handling under the crane is automatic. 

As the terminal tractors are 

fitted with RDT terminals linked 

to the TOS through a wireless 

LAN, drivers can indicate when 

they have arrived under the crane 

or at a marked bay and whether 

they are in the correct position or 

not. This information is fed into 

planning software that orders jobs. 

Container numbers are confirmed 

by cameras on the spreader linked 

to an OCR system. 

Precise position 

Once the chassis or truck is identified 

at the bay it can be further 

directed to position under the 

crane by a 2-dimensional Sick laser 

scanner that measures the position 

of the truck or chassis and 

uses a light system to direct the 

driver forward or backward. 

The spreader is lowered automatically 

and positioned over the 

container twistlocks using six laser 

sensors mounted on the 

spreader. Over road trucks the 

spreader stops 400mm above the 

container or chassis and the remote 

operator takes over. Over 

terminal tractors the hoist stops 

400mm above the trailer or container. 

The driver must then push 

a button to confirm that the job 

can be completed safely and the 

move is handled automatically. 

The remote control room is in 

the main office building, 1.2 kms 

from the cranes. The operator station 

has three screens and can display 

images from 18 cameras 

mounted on the spreader, trolley 

and crane itself. The operator has 

separate joysticks for the main 

drives and the fine positioning 

system, which controls the four 

auxiliary winches that enable 


Automated RMG at PECT. The landside sill beam (obscured in this shot) is 

larger than the waterside beam and houses all the electrical equipment 

150mm of movement in any direction 

to make any necessary adjustments. 

In most cases none 

should be necessary. 

Productivity vs cost 

PECT’s operations manage S Lim 

says that productivity over a 15 day 

test period reached 25 containers 

per hour with interruptions while 

teething problems were ironed 

out. PECT expects each ATC to 

achieve in the region of 38 moves/ 

hour compared to 20 for an RTG. 

This will enable it to maintain 

its current level of productivity 

with three ATCs per crane instead 

of four RTGs, but it plans to use 

four ATCs as it works towards 120 

moves/ship hour on larger vessels. 

The exact yard configuration is 

still under review but at this stage 

PECT has opted for two ATCs in 

the first block behind the quay 

cranes and one ASC in the next 

three. Full vessel operations are 

scheduled to start this November. 

PECT began considering automation 

three years ago and in 

that time the cost of key components, 

laser sensors in particular, 

has fallen significantly as technology 

has become commercialised. 

In particular, sensor manufacturer 

Sick has commercialised laser 

range finders and other sensors 

that use the time of flight 

principle to determine position 

without the use of transponders. 

Seoho has continued to develop 

its automation technology 

by refining the algorithm in its 

GPS system and incorporating advances 

in sensor technology. The 

premium for automation has 

come down to around 10 per cent 

of the cost of the cranes and 

PECT expects this to be recovered 

within four years. 

Total operating cost savings are 

expected to be around US$1 mill 

per year, mostly from a reduction 

in labour costs. The remote station 

will be staffed by two operators 

(three shifts/day,) but these 

positions are much less expensive 

than crane drivers. Savings will 

also come from reduced crane and 

equipment damage due to 

smoother handling and a longer 

depreciation period (30 years for 

an ATC; 20 years for an RTG). 

ZPMC system 

ZPMC’s new automated empty 

handling system at Waigaoqiao 

phase III is quite unlike anything 

built to date. There are separate 

cranes for the yard, running parallel 

to the quay, and for the truck 

interface that run perpendicular to 

the quay. The yard cranes have two 

PECT: remote station with separate controls for main and fine positioning 

October 2005


trolleys and stack containers transversally 

rather than end-on. Three 40ft containers 

can be stacked between the legs and 

each trolley can pass the other in the trolley 

travel direction. 

Fully robotised 

Unlike at PECT where a remote operator 

intervenes for part of the ATC operation, 

the yard cranes at Waigaoqiao can 

operate fully automatically all the time. 

The smaller RMGs at each end of the 

block have a very short cycle and as they 

are low there are fewer problems with 

sway. The drawback is the extra cost of an 

additional crane and associated civil works. 

The yard system is also notable for the 

way it uses ideas and technology from 

other cranes and drive systems that 

ZPMC has built and obviously has confidence 

in. The interchange between the 

large and small RMGs uses a fixed frame 

guide similar to those seen on the platform 

of double trolley cranes built for 

Ningbo and HHLA. The drive system for 

the gantry long travel features a differential 

gearbox, something ZPMC is also incorporating 

into a quay crane rope drive 

system, with a smaller motor for more 

controlled inching of the gantry structure 

when fine positioning moves in the 

10-20mm range are required. 

Another interesting selection is the 

choice of a mechanical stacking guide, in 

this case a telescopic unit at each end of 

the spreader that extends below the bottom 

of a hoisted container to position it 

correctly in the stack. ZPMC has also incorporated 

a “magnetic ruler” instead of 

an encoder for the trolley and long travel 

position detection. 

Over the years many ideas for automated 

handling systems have remained on 

the drawing board because the inventors 

have not been able to persuade terminal 

operators to take the risk on a new system 

and equipment manufacturers have 

not been willing to commit to more than 

small scale projects without a firm order. 

ZPMC has changed all that and is prepared 

to build new equipment where it 

thinks it can cultivate a market. 

Euromax control 

Another variation on remote controlled 

cranes will be used at the new Euromax 

terminal in Rotterdam where ZPMC is 

PECT: on-terminal remote controller used for 

maintenance purposes 

Automated EC yard at Waigaoqiao, showing 

the cranes (right), the remote station (immediate 

left) and the fixed guides at the stacking/truck 

interface with hydraulic arms for twin 20fts 

and 40/45fts (below left) 

supplying the ASCs and ABB the drive 

and automation systems. In this instance 

road trucks will be handled at the end of 

each bay (as at CTA Hamburg) with what 

ABB describes as “active participation of 

the truck driver who will handle pickup/lowering 

on the truck.” 

Truck drivers will identify their presence 

and location at the interface area via 

an identity card. The crane will be positioned 

over the job and the spreader/container 

positioned over the truck automatically. 

Any skew will be corrected automatically 

via a fine positioning system on 

the headblock and the driver will control 

raising and lowering only. The cranes will 

be controllable remotely from a central 

control room but this will be needed only 

in exceptional situations such as a sensor 

failure or other event that prevents a job 

being completed in the normal manner. 

Compared to other automation systems 

ABB has delivered, the Euromax 

application will use newer drives (the 

more compact ABB ACS 800), more 

powerful controllers (ABB AC 800) and 

an upgraded condition monitoring system. 

Although other automation systems 

are using off-the-shelf sensors from Sick, 

ABB has developed its own sensors for 

stack profiling, spreader positioning and 

detecting the position of AGVs and road 

trucks based on laser and infra-red light 

technology. ❏ 

Moving cargo at 

TM GE Automation Systems, LLC 

1501 Roanoke Blvd. • Salem VA, 24153 USA 

TEL: +1-540-387-5741 FAX: +1-540-387-7060 

www.tmge.com 


news 

TMEIC GE is the world’s largest supplier of crane 

control systems for container shipments worldwide. 

We produce powerful systems to promote efficiency, 

reduce maintenance, and function without fail in even 

the most demanding environments. 

• The Maxspeed control 

system diagnostics reduce 

crane maintenance and 

optimize availability 

• Provides continuous and on 

line measurement of crane 

utilization and productivity 

• Integration of real time 

crane and container 

logistics to support asset 

planning and deployment 

• System integration of 

other yard management 

assets such as GPS (Global 

Positioning Systems) and 

OCR (Optical Character 

Recognition) subsystems 

to permit real time container 

tracking and location within 

the yard 

• The Maxview 

vision system and 

auto-navigational 

subsystems help assure 

consistent operating 

productivity and 

increase safety 


.


news 

Throughout the short history of 

the container industry, crane braking 

systems have steadily evolved 

from simple off-the-shelf components 

to highly sophisticated systems 

with improved safety and 

maintenance features. Of course, 

however, they still have to cater 

to OEMs’ and owners’ needs to 

minimise installation cost. 

The brake features needed to 

support the introduction of the 

new Malmedie snag and overload 

system are an example of further 

evolution in brake systems. When 

a snag or overload causes the safety 

coupling to trip it is vital to ensure 

that emergency brakes are 

fast-acting and always fully functional 

so that equivalent brake capacity 

is maintained. 

Not controlled 

In addition, with motor torque 

temporarily disconnected, the 

motors are no longer available to 

provide controlled release of residual 

snag or overload rope tension. 

Then the hoist brakes must 

have a controllable manual release 

38 

to fulfil this function (see 

WorldCargo News, June 2005, p27 

for a description of these new 

brake features). 

Falling boom 

A likely new example of brake 

safety evolution recently arose 

when a boom hoist reducer shaft 

broke while the boom was being 

lowered. The boom brake set as it 

should but the operator, unaware 

of the broken shaft, released the 

brake to continue lowering. This 

sequence was repeated twice 

until the brake overheated and 

the boom fell onto the forestays 

with enough shock load to 

damage the crane. 

Industry publicity about this 

accident may result in changes to 

control software, to crane operating 

procedures, or simply to add- 

ing a key switch with the key only 

available to crane maintenance 

personnel. Unfortunately, industry 

practice is to stay tight-lipped 

about accidents, so new accidents 

can occur several times before they 

are countered with a new industry 

standard. 

Runaways 

One type of accident that has 

plagued the container industry 

since it started in the early 1960s 

is gantry runaways due to unexpected 

microburst wind. These 

winds usually occur during thunderstorms 

but can also occur during 

clear weather. They have a 

wind speed of between 30 and 40 

m/sec and can easily overwhelm 

most non-engineered gantry 

braking systems. 

The earliest dockside cranes 

had six wheels per corner, two of 

which had motor brakes. The 

other four were idler wheels, free 

to roll. These systems offered two 

braked wheels out of six, which 

equals 33 per cent braking against 

microburst winds, and runaways 

were common. Later cranes had 

eight wheels per corner of which 

four had brakes - ie 50 per cent 

braking. That was an improvement 

but still inadequate to prevent operating 

cranes from sliding into 

each other. 

In the usual runaway “scenario,” 

the crane starts to roll 

against the motor torque. The operator 

responds by hitting E-stop. 

The brakes set but soon overheat 

and lose torque. The crane accelerates 

as it rolls free of any braking. 

This causes the motors to over 

spin and lock as the windings explode 

and then the crane either 

slides to a stop or crashes. 

New rule of thumb 

A rule of thumb originally suggested 

by ECT’s Joan Rijsenbrij 

over 20 years ago was that 75 per 

cent braking had proven to be successful 

in resisting microburst 

winds. That rule is still applied in 

some purchase specifications and 

has yet to be proven inadequate. 

However, modern cranes are 

much larger and taller than cranes 

in service when this rule was first 

proposed. The sail area centre is 

higher and this equates to higher 

effective wind speeds. 

Modern “mega” cranes may or 

may not be safe with 75 per cent 

braking. Rather than speculate, it 

is preferable to have the gantry 

system custom-engineered for 

microburst winds including height 

effects for both boom up and 

boom down configurations. 

Microburst - parked 

Originally, parked wind resistance 

was provided by a combination of 

rail clamps and stow pins. Often 

rail clamps were dysfunctional due 

to neglected maintenance or debris 

that collected in the gantry 

rail recess. To make matters worse, 

it was common not to set stow 

pins when parking cranes. 

Even when stow pins were set 

they were located on a single gantry 

truck and subjected to a 

leveraging up-lift that could pull 

the stow pin out of its socket. 

Tiedowns that could have resisted 

the up-lift were under-designed 

for the prying loads that actually 

occurred. 

Put pins first 

Rail clamps are still common today 

and so are push-down brakes. 

Neither one is an adequate substitute 

for properly functioning 

stow pins. Push-down brakes lose 

efficiency if the gantry rail does 

not have a perfectly true vertical 

alignment. At best the push-down 

rail brakes provide resistance at the 

expense of unloading the gantry 

wheels that have brakes. 

This load transfer is a one-forone 

exchange in static brake resistance 

from the wheels that have 

brakes to the push-down brakes. 

The push-down brakes do help to 

the extent they add to the zero 


Safety improvements for container crane brakes 

USED 

GOTTWALD 

HMK 260 E 

Mobile Harbour Crane 

FOR SALE 

Contact: 

This is the last in a series of three 

articles specially written for World- 

Cargo News by Bill Casper PE, of 

Casper, Phillips & Associates, Tacoma, 

Washington. The first and second 

articles were published in May 2005 

(p60) and July 2005 (p31) 

YEAR: 1989 - RUNNING HOURS: 8.000 ONLY 

CONDITION: EXCELLENT! 

HOOK CAPACITIES: 80t / 16m - 27,5t / 40m 

MOTOR GRAB: 20t / 33,5m - 15t / 40m 

Steen Lauge Jensen 

Port Equipment 

+45 20 33 17 77 

member of JMM GROUP, Scandinavia 

www.akerbergs.dk 

Phone: +45 75 64 17 77 

Fax: +45 75 64 17 74 

E-mail: slj@akerbergs.dk 

Bubenzer’s Formula for Success 

INDUSTRIAL BRAKE SYSTEMS 

FOR SALE 

● 1 Ship-to-Shore Crane 

railspan: 25m. grab/containers 

outreach: 35, 40m. – backreach: 15m. 

● 2 used GOTTWALD cranes 

type: HMK 280-79, 4 ropes 

manufactured 1987 

and 

Large stock of spare parts for 

the above 

● 1 used CAILLARD Crane, 

2 Rope Mobile Harbour Crane 

cap.: 6 ton. radius 31 meters 

provided for electro-hydraulic 

attachments 

● 1 toplift vacuum attachment 

for loading/unloading pipes 

+bulk Please =15 contact: ton) 

+bulk 40 ton) 

• 2 Ro-Ro combined walkways/Ro-Ro ramps 

LEBLON Philippe, 9 rue Bouquet, 77185 Lognes, France. 

Tel: +33 1 60 05 Please 56 46, contact: Fax: +33 1 64 80 06 32 

Email: ph.leblon@wanadoo.fr 

Tel: +33 1 60 05 56 46, Fax: +33 1 64 80 06 32 

Philippe Leblon 

Safety, innovation and quality 

are the guiding principles of 

our business philosophy. 

BUBENZER BREMSEN is a 

world leader in the design 

and manufacture of industrial 

braking systems because we 

constantly strive to do the best 

work possible on every job. 

Our quality and customer 

service are second to none, 

and we pride ourselves in 

finding a solution to any 

braking problem based upon 

our many years of experience 

in the material handling 

industry. 

Be informed at: 

www.bubenzer.de 

or phone: +49 (0) 27 41/94 88-0 

® 

The picture above shows an example of 75 per cent gantry braking. The one 

below shows 100 per cent braking. (Source: Casper, Phillips & Associates) 

braking of the idler wheels that 

are free to roll. Unless of special 

design, the push-down rail brake 

is only a holding brake and is not 

suitable as a stopping brake. 

Supplemental gantry brakes 

that convert the idler wheels to 

braked wheels are common on 

cranes purchased to a specification 

that requires an engineered braking 

system. Otherwise, they are 

seldom provided since they are 

more expensive than rail clamps 

or push-down rail brakes. 

Brake redundancy 

Redundant brakes are common 

for main hoist and boom hoist. 

They are not practical for gantry 

brakes because the best that can 

be achieved is to lock all wheels 

when operating the crane. The 

gantry brake function is replaced 

by stow pins for the parked case. 

Redundancy is the most powerful 

and efficient way to increase 

reliability against nearly all type of 

failures. However, redundancy can 

give a false sense of security if, in 

fact, it does not exist because of 

inadequate maintenance. Even 

ports that have very good maintenance 

have discovered dysfunctional 

brakes. 

The reason has to do with the 

normal function, which is to serve 

as holding brakes. Only under 

emergencies are redundant brakes 

called upon to be stopping brakes. 

One could have a main hoist 

with two motor brakes and two 

emergency brakes that could function 

quite well for everyday operations 

with only one motor 

brake serving as the holding brake 

while the other three brakes are 

not working. It would only be 

evident when an emergency arises 

that the two or three levels of apparent 

brake redundancy are nonexistent. 

❏ 

This crane was reportedly caught by a microburst during operations and its 

gantry brakes were inadequate to prevent runaway and collapse (Source: ibid) 

November October 2005


Mobile forces stay on the front line 

The current year looks like it will 

be another good one for sales of 

mobile harbour cranes - in line 

with trends for all types of front line handling 

equipment in the global ports industry 

- although it is too early to speak 

of “records” at this juncture. 

Gottwald Port Technology has reported 

that during the first six months of 

this year it received orders for 37 cranes, 

compared to 33 cranes in the same period 

of 2004. The list was made up of 36 

harbour mobile cranes, ranging from one 

small HMK 90E for Dover Harbour 

Board to three big HMK 330EG 4-rope 

grab cranes (two for Gujarat Adani Port, 

India and one for Tarragona Port Service 

in Spain) and one large rail portalmounted 

crane, an HSK 330EG 4-rope 

grab crane for Chesapeake Bulk Handing 

in Sparrows Point, Maryland, US. 

Popular line 

In the period under review, Gottwald’s 

most popular seller was the HMK 300E 

2-rope crane, with 17 units sold, including 

two to DPI for its concession in 

Cochin and two for established customer 

Novorossiysk Commercial Seaport. 

Gottwald adds that it has strengthened 

its position in the Far East region, with 

five orders for seven cranes recorded for 

this region. They include two HMK 260E 

cranes for Thai Prosperity Terminal near 

Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River - the 

first Gottwald cranes in Thailand (last 

month’s WorldCargo News, p2). 

Two HMK 170Es were ordered by 

Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd for the Port of Kota 

Kinabalu in Malaysia. Indonesian port 

operator PT Prima Nur Panurjawan, part 

of Samudera Shipping, ordered an HMK 

300E for its operation in the Port of 

Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, due for commissioning 

this month. In Korea, an HMK 

300E was ordered by Global Enterprises 

Ltd in Pusan. Typically in Korean ports, 

Gottwald cranes are usually in operation 

for more than 4500 hours per year, well 

above the global average. 

With these orders, says Gottwald, the 

total number of its cranes in the ASEAN 

countries and China, Taiwan, Korea and 

Sri Lanka comes to 60 units. This represents 

some 60 per cent of the total mobile 

harbour crane market in this macroregion, 

says Gottwald. 

“Our growing market share in this region 

puts us in an ideal position to penetrate 

the market further,” said Gottwald’s 

sales director Giuseppe di Lisa. “So far, 

2005 has been a year of progress in this 

region for Gottwald. We still have a lot 

more work ahead of us and remain dedicated 

to our commitment to state-of-theart 

equipment, ongoing development of 

products and markets and listening to 

customer needs.” 

First for Liebherr 

Liebherr-Werk Nenzing has supplied the 

first harbour mobile crane, a model LHM 

Liebherr LHM 400 installed at Buss Ports 

& Logistics’ terminal in Sassnitz 

150 to the Hungarian Danube River Port 

of Gönyü, close to Györ. Gönyü Harbour 

is located almost exactly half way between 

the North Sea and the Black Sea and 

could substantially benefit from the growing 

ecological as well as economic importance 

of the Danube waterways within 

recent years. Liebherr has now sold more 

than 50 LHM 150s - one of the smaller 

models in its range - since it was introduced 

in the late 1990s. 

Gönyü’s mid-term planning foresees 

the handling of containers while the regular 

handling of steel coils up to 32 tonnes 

has already been confirmed. To maximise 

flexibility, Gönyü has opted for the addi- 

tion of an 8 m 3 motor grab to handle various 

bulk cargoes. Other add-ons acquired 

by the port include Liebherr’s economy 

software programme for optimised fuel 

consumption, a remote-controlled rotator, 

a data recorder inclusive of a telephone 

modem for data transfer, air-conditioning 

for the tower cabin and various further 

extras. 

Big crane handovers 

Elsewhere, Liebherr recently handed over 

a new LHM 400 harbour mobile crane 

to Sea Terminal Sassnitz GmbH, operated 

by Buss Ports & Logistic Group, bringing 

to six the number of LHMs ordered by 

the Buss group for various operations in 

Germany in the past few years, the others 

being two LHM 400s for Buss Ross 

Terminal in Rostock, an LHM 400 and 

an LHM 500 for Buss Kuhwerder terminal 

and an LHM 320 for Buss Hansa Terminal, 

both in Hamburg. 

The latest delivery is designed for 

multi-purpose operations, with a 4-rope 

configuration for heavy lifts and supplied 

with a motor grab control system. As reported 

in last month’s WorldCargo News 

(p4), an LHM 500 - Liebherr’s biggest 

Gottwald’s best seller is the HMK 300E. 

These cranes are in the Port of Venice 


news 

October 2005 39


news 

40 

King’s Lynn’s mirror image 

UK-based Spillard Safety Systems has installed 

dual colour camera systems and 

convex mirrors on two mobile hydraulic 

bulk handling cranes, a Fuchs Terex MHL 

380 and a crawler-mounted Liebherr 984 

Litronic, at ABP King’s Lynn. 

ABP is continuously assessing safety 

and risk, says Paul Freeman, ABP’s maintenance 

manager at King’s Lynn, and as 

part of this policy it decided to equip 

the Fuchs excavator with a narrow angle, 

boom-mounted camera and a wide 

angle, rear-facing camera from Spillards. 

harbour mobile crane - has just been supplied 

to another German multi-purpose 

“This trial convinced us that handling 

operations at the port were now safer and 

terminal operator, Walmann in Hamburg. 

This year has without question also 

more efficient, so a second camera system 

for our Liebherr 984 excavator crane 

was ordered from Spillards.” 

Both cameras are linked to a single 

Optronics colour monitor located conveniently 

in the crane’s cab. The operator 

can switch between a clear view of the 

working point or a wide view to the rear 

of the crane, useful when repositioning 

along the dockside. 

“The boom-mounted camera has 

proved to be very effective,” says Freeman. 

“Our crane operators can now unload 

ships with more confidence, especially 

when trimming and handling loose 

materials such as fertilisers.” 

been a very positive one for Reggiane 

(Fantuzzi group). According to Fantuzzi 

Gottwald Port Technology GmbH • Postfach 18 03 43 • 40570 Düsseldorf, Germany 

Phone: +49 211 7102-0 • Fax: +49 211 7102-651 • e-mail: info@gottwald.com • www.gottwald.com 

Spillards has gone on to fit a similar 

camera/mirror system to a Fuchs MHL 

360 crane recently supplied to ABP’s 

Ipswich facility through Fuchs’ British 

distributor Hydrex Group. 

The MHL 380 is the biggest and 

most powerful crane in the Fuchs Terex 

range. It is fitted with a 248 kW engine 

and has a maximum outreach of 21m. 

Next in line is the MHL 360, with a 

maximum outreach of 18m and a 186 

kW engine. Altogether Fuchs Terex offers 

12 cranes with pantographic booms 

to raise the operator’s cab - 10 rubbertyred 

units (MHL) and two crawler 

machines (RHL 340 and RHL 350). ❏ 

group’s joint managing director Guido 

Luini, in the first three quarters of this 

www.gottwald.com 

Cutting-Edge Cargo Handling 

Are you looking for a cutting-edge 

means to make the handling of steel 

and other goods at your terminal 

even more efficient? 

Then you need look no further than 

the Mobile Harbour Cranes of 

Gottwald Port Technology, the 

unmatched world leader in this field. 

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology 

and designed for many appli- 

cations, the various Gottwald harbour 

cranes provide the highest handling 

speeds, thus reducing expensive ship 

lay-up times. And not only for steel 

handling, but also for scrap, bulk 

material and fruit pallets. 

Steel yourself for faster and more 

economical cargo handling – speak 

to Gottwald Port Technology now 

and cut ahead of the rest. 


year, Reggiane had an order intake of 33 

harbour mobile cranes, compared to 17 

for the whole of 2004. 

Furthermore, several other deals are 

at an advanced stage of negotiation and it 

is hoped that some of these will be translated 

into firm orders, so the final figure 

for 2005 could be even higher. 

Reggiane’s strong performance this 

year is all the more remarkable given the 

transfer of production from Reggio 

Emilia to the Aegean coast at Monfalcone. 

Inevitably this caused some disruption as 

not all the skilled and experienced Reggio 

workforce was willing to transfer. 

Longer term the switch should work 

in Reggiane’s favour, as Monfalcone’s waterside 

load-out facilities mean that cranes 

can be shipped out as complete or partbig 

units and no longer have to be disassembled 

for road transport after testing. 

The same advantages are available for 

Liebherr at its new plant in the Port of 

Rostock in Germany. 

Reggiane’s sales this year include an 

MHC 200 to Multi-Link Terminals 

(Forth Ports/Containerships) in Kronstadt 

(near Saint Petersburg) and two MHC 

200s for Brazilian port operators, 

Rodrimar in Santos and Teconvi in Itajaí 

- the latter machine has some special features. 

Rodrimar disclosed that its MHC 

200 cost €2 mill (US$2.6 mill), somewhat 

cheaper than previously would have been 

the case because of reforms to Brazil’s 

import tax rules. 

Big market 

Traditionally Italy was the biggest market 

for harbour mobile cranes and at one 

time supported several home-based suppliers, 

led by Italgru SpA although 

Gottwald tended to win contracts for 

larger cranes. Reggiane gained a foothold 

due to problems at Italgru and its own 

“renaissance” as part of Fantuzzi group 

that was more focused on international 

sales than Italgru had been and went on 

to develop “new” markets such as Turkey 

and the Maghreb countries. 

The Italgru name was gradually revived 

as Italgru Srl after Bonfanti group, 

which also owns Antonio Badoni Srl and 

Badoni/Costameccanica Srl, acquired the 

know-how, production facilities, references 

and personnel in 1995. The new 

Italgru went on to develop a bigger 

model, the GS 2400P. 

This is rated (hook load) at 120 tonnes 

between 11m and 21m and 35 tonnes at 

maximum radius of 50m under FEM A3. 

In grab mode it is rated at 50 tonnes- 

11m/31 tonnes-50m (grab plus load). This 

is the biggest crane in Italgru’s range and 

was introduced last year. 

Hydraulic competition 

As previously reported (WorldCargo News, 

July 2005, p2), Mantsinen Oy is diversifying 

its ropeless, hydraulic material handler 

range and has come up with a rail 

portal-mounted unit to go alongside its 

established rubber-tyred and crawlermounted 

designs. 

The 140 ER has a similar operating 

weight to the largest Mantsinen crawler 

crane, the 140 RHC, as supplied to ports 

such as Kantvik in Finland and Gävle in 

Sweden, and has similar operating characteristics. 

Maximum horizontal outreach 

is 30m and lifting capacities are 8.5 

tonnes-20m and 16 tonnes-15m. 

This is a direct challenge to smaller 

versions of Gottwald’s HSK rail portalmounted 

crane. Often these are pitched 

at finger piers where a raised portal is required 

to clear wagon tracks. The cranes 

replace aged, rail-mounted jib cranes. 

Business this year for Mantsinen includes 

four more crawler-mounted cranes 

for EMR European Metals Recycling 

group in Great Britain, supplied through 

British dealer Transtec Equipment. One 

RHC 60 (Isuzu 225 kw) engine has gone 

to Sheffield and another RHC 60 to 

Manchester. An RCT 50 (Cat C-9 195 

kW engine) and an RHC 80 (Isuzu 295 

kW engine) have gone to Cardiff. 

Mantsinen is also busy on the contract 

handling side of its business, with 

machines working in sawmills and wood 

depots owned by Vida AB, Sweden’s biggest 

private sawmill company. The south 

of Sweden was hit by a number of heavy 

storms in autumn last year and this resulted 

in an enormous quantity of wood 

to be harvested. ❏ 

October 2005


Dedicated reach stacker tyres 

Sourcing big tyres for heavy mobile handling 

plant in ports has been a problem 

for OEMs and end-users alike, due to supply 

shortages combined with an increase 

in demand for equipment, particularly 

container handlers. US military “call ups” 

from leading tyre suppliers have aggravated 

the situation. 

One OEM reports that in the first 

quarter of this year it was asked by 

Bridgestone to state its requirements for 

next year, obviously putting it in a difficult 

position. Its choice tyres for reach 

stackers are bias tyres from Bridgestone, 

but confronted with a shortage it has 

sourced some of its requirement from 

Simex instead, fitting the latter’s Container 

Master tyres to some laden handling 

lift trucks. Feedback from customers 

is said to have been good. 

Not only...but also 

It is wrong to point a finger of blame 

at tyre suppliers as there have been constraints 

in virtually all main component 

areas, including drive lines. The situation 

here has generally been worse than 

with tyres and rims, as it is more difficult 

to find alternative suppliers that 

are acceptable to customers without altering 

the design of the machines. 

The tyre shortage has given “new” 

suppliers an opportunity. For example, 

MRF Tyres is a leading tyre manufacturer 

in India which has exported to other 

Asian countries, but its large “Musclelift” 

and “Musclerok” tyres have been turning 

up on original equipment in Europe. 

Michelin previously announced hat it 

was building a major new tyre factory in 

Brazil. The new plant, slated to open at 

the end of 2007, is aimed at construction/EM 

tyres and will enable the 

Montceaux-les-Mines factory in France 

to concentrate more on port sector tyres, 

in which Michelin is investing heavily. 

Michelin has a dedicated ports market 

development team led by Robert 

Pommelet in France. New tyres specifically 

designed for heavy port equipment 

were finally unveiled at Cemat in 

Hannover earlier this month. 

New tyres 

The Stabil’X XZM2 and Stabil’X X- 

Stacker are respectively lugged and 

smooth 18.00R-25 tyres aimed at ladenhandling 

reach stackers. The lugged tyre 

is recommended when the reach stackers 

Michelin’s new reach stacker tyres - Stabil’X 

XZM 2 (above) and Stabil’X X-Stacker 

Two new tyres have been launched for 

laden container handling reach stackers 

are involved in long cycles and travel up 

to 10 kms in one hour. The smooth tyre 

is recommended when the machines 

work most of the time in confined spaces 

and are constantly being manoeuvred. 

Typically these intensively-used, short 

cycle machines do not cover a distance 

of more than 5 kms in an hour. 

Both these distances are based on 

empirical observations in ports and 

Michelin’s own in-house tests. Underlin- 

ing its commitment to the market, it has 

acquired its own reach stacker that it uses 

at its test centre in Almería in Spain. 

The new tyres have much more tread 

depth and the bead and crown have been 

reinforced. Compared to the previous 

Stabil’X XZM, Michelin estimates that 

the Stabil’X XZM2, which has a deep 

and solid tread with bridges between the 

tread blocks, will provide 15-20 per cent 

more first tread life for reach stackers in 

long cycle work. For the short cycle machines 

it estimates that the Stabil’X X- 

Stacker will provide 30-40 per cent more 

life., Michelin believes these figures are 

conservative, but is being cautious until 

the results start to come in. Initially the 

new tyres are being made available in selected 

markets. The Stabil’X XZM2 will 

also be available in 18.00R-33 size, although 

no date has been revealed. 

Last year Michelin launched the X 

Terminal T, a 280/75R 22.5 size tyre for 

Yokohama 40 PR 18.00-25 tyres on a new 

Svetruck 37120-575 FLT going to Hamburg 

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October 2005 41


news 

port/intermodal terminal and distribution 

“spotter” tractors 

(WorldCargo News, October 2004, 

p22). The tyre can be fitted to steer 

42 

and drive axles and is claimed to 

offer up to 70 per cent more life 

than the best reference road truck 

tyre available on the market. 

Linde 4531 CS reach stacker fitted 

with 18.00-25 “Container Master” 

bias tyres from Simex 

It can be used on 7.50-22.5 

and 8.25-22.5 wheels and is a replacement 

for all of the most 

popular truck tyre sizes used on 

terminal tractors - 11.00R-22.5, 

255/70R 22.5, 275/70 R 22.5, 

275/80R 22.5 and 295/80R 22.5. 

Straddle the market 

Previously Michelin launched the 

X-Straddle size 480/95R 25 specifically 

aimed at straddle carriers 

with at least a 50 tonne SWL for 

twin 20 lifting purposes. 

8-52 to. 

used container forklift trucks 

and terminal equipment 

Forklift trucks, 

reachstackers 

and terminal equipment 

Cap. Type Year Liftheight 

7 t. Kalmar DCD70-40E5 01 15180 mm 

8 t. Kalmar DB8-600 86 5000 mm 

8 t. Svetruck 16CS5H 97 12500 mm 

10 t. Kalmar DC10-600 87 5000 mm 

15 t. Kalmar DCD15-1200 02 4000 mm 

16 t. Svetruck 16120-38 95 5000 mm 

18 t. Svetruck 18120-36 full free lift 95 6000 mm 

20 t. Svetruck 20120-42 00 4000 mm 

25 t. Svetruck 25120-45 92 4000 mm 

25 t. Svetruck 25120-45 97 4000 mm 

25 t. SMV SL25-1200A 99 5000 mm 

40 t. Hyster H48.00C 89 9890 mm 

Reachstackers 

10 t. SMV SC108TA 96 15800 mm 

41 t. Sisu RSD4118-TL4 96 12100 mm 

N.C.NIELSEN A/S · DK-7860 BALLING · DENMARK 

TEL. +45 99 83 83 83 · FAX +45 97 56 46 24 

www.nc-nielsen.dk · linde@nc-nielsen.dk 

Cap. Type Year Liftheight 

41 t. Linde C4130TL5 99 15900 mm 

45 t. Kalmar DC4560RS4 94 12200 mm 

45 t. CVS/Ferrari 178HA 94 14700 mm 

45 t. Terex TFC4517 Superstacker 99 14790 mm 

46 t. Hyster RS46-30IH 96 14750 mm 

Terminal tractors 

25 t. Mafi MT25 4x2 97 1000 mm 

25 t. Terberg RT20 4x4 94 1000 mm 

25 t. Sisu TT131A2 4x2 95 1000 mm 

25 t. Terberg RT20 4x4 91 1000 mm 

25 t. Sisu TR160A 4x4 85 1000 mm 

30 t. Kalmar TB3042 4x2 96 1000 mm 

30 t. CVS/Ferrari FT 225V2 4x4 96 1000 mm 

30 t. Terberg TT220 4x2 99 1000 mm 

36 t. Mafi MT36R 4x4 97 1000 mm 

ncnielsen 

The tyre is between a 16.00- 

25 and 18.00-25 in size and replaces 

the former X-Straddle RD 

18.00- 25 that Michelin originally 

targeted at twin 20 straddle carrier 

applications. The X-Straddle 

is still available for straddle carriers 

in 16.00R-25 size. 

This year output of new straddle 

carriers is around the 400 

mark, which means 2400 new 

tyres to say nothing of the replacement 

market, although many of 

these would be retreads. 

It is generally easier to retread 

radial tyres than bias ply and the 

latter have a higher failure rate 

during the remoulding process. 

On the other hand, there is an argument 

that when a bias ply is successfully 

retreaded it lasts longer 

than the equivalent radial retread. 

Straddle carrier tyres are an 

area where Bridgestone claims to 

be “widening its lead” with its 

deep-groove VCHD radial tyres 

that it claims are “the most reliable 

brand” available. 

Small FLT deal 

Michelin is making inroads in the 

volume end of the FLT market. 

Last year Nacco Materials Handling 

group made a deal with 

Michelin to fit Stabil’X XZM 

tyres as a standard option on all 

UK-built Hyster and Yale i/c FLTs 

in the 1-7 tonne range, sold 

throughout the world. 

Under the deal, the FLTs, including 

the new Yale Vercator VX 

and Hyster Fortens series, can be 

offered with Michelin tyres at no 

extra cost compared to fitting 

pneumatic-shaped solid tyres. The 

deal has now been extended to 

Hyster’s Fortens LPG trucks in the 

2.0-3.5 tonne range. 

Hyster has offered the 

Michelin Stabil’X XZM radial industrial 

tyre as an on-cost option 

on its Challenger range of FLTs 

for the past 15 years and Michelin 

claims that customer demand has 

steadily increased. Hyster, it adds, 

is the first FLT company in the 

world to offer its Stabil’X XZM 

as a no-cost option tyre. 

Stabil’X XZM can be fitted 

tubeless on a standard multi-piece 

rim. This reduces the punctures 

and instant deflations often associated 

with pneumatic FLT tyres, 

says Michelin. The tyre is particularly 

adapted for applications on 

poor surfaces, or where intensive 

use of the truck is required, as it 

provides excellent shock absorption 

and cool running and eliminates 

tyre destruction due to heat. 

The Stabil’X XZM offers in- 

creased tyre life and reduced operating 

costs when compared to 

pneumatic-shaped solids and bias 

tyres, continues Michelin, including 

lower fuel consumption due 

to lower rolling resistance. 

Michelin actually claims that 

customers using its radial tyres on 

FLTs benefit from a productivity 

gain of up to 15 per cent. As a 

dedicated radial tyre supplier, 

Michelin constantly stresses the 

inherent advantages of radial tyre 

construction in terms of total life 

costs. Given a choice OEMs will 

tend to fit bias tyres as they are 

less expensive, so Michelin has to 

Although press-on band (POB) 

tyres have been used successfully 

on rolltrailers for years, tyres were 

a major “headache” when ro-ro 

cassette lifters (“translifters”) were 

first developed. The intensive use 

of this equipment in repeated cycles 

compared to rolltrailers, coupled 

with the heavy loads and 

small dimensions of the wheels, 

caused excessive heat build-up and 

the tyres literally burnt up. 

Attempts to solve the problems 

over the years with various 2- and 

3-compound pneumatic-shaped 

resilient solids had mixed results 

at best. But eventually the best rim 

and POB tyre sizes and special 

compounds were found through 

close co-operation between the 

lifter and tyre manufacturers. 

The market leader in this 

“niche” ro-ro equipment sector 

today appears to be UK-based 

Watts Industrial Tyres. As previously 

reported (WorldCargo News, 

September 2005, p32), TTS Liftec 

Products Oy, the leading translifter 

Trelleborg Wheel Systems, part of 

the Sweden-based Trelleborg industrial 

engineering group, has 

acquired French company Cimap 

Roues Industrielles SAS (CRI) 

from the family-owned Cimap 

group for an undisclosed sum. 

CRI has annual sales of more 

than €4 mill, and has been a distributor 

of Trelleborg industrial 

tyres since 1999. It will be integrated 

with Trelleborg Wheel Systems 

own industrial tyre organisation 

in France. 

Danish road transport operator 

DFDS Transport recently ordered 

1000 new Krone trailers fitted 

with Bandag tyre retreads as original 

equipment. The decision, says 

Bandag, “demonstrates the extent 

to which DFDS trusts strategic 

partners such as Bandag and 

Eurofleet for lowering operating 

costs and boosting trailer uptime.” 

After a Europe-wide tender, 

DFDS decided in May 2005 to 

order 1000 new trailers from German 

manufacturer Bernard Krone 

GmbH. The trailers, due to be 

delivered over a period of 18 

months, will be fitted with 6000 

Bandag retreaded tyres. These are 

manufactured by Bandag dealers 

in Belgium, Holland, Germany, 


get its message across to the user. 

Other leading suppliers to port 

operators such as Bridgestone, 

Goodyear or Yokohama have a 

foot in both camps, reflecting the 

continuing demand for bias ply 

tyres in this sector. Gradually the 

market share of radial tyres is increasing 

although there are still 

reservations when it comes to 

high-stacking applications. ❏ 

● Bob Thurston retires from 

Michelin at the end of this year, 

after 35 years with the company, 

the last 15 as technical support 

manager for OE manufacturers 

and importers in the UK. ❏ 

Watts presses ahead 

supplier today, prefers to fit Watts’ 

645/250-410 POBs twinned on 

a 500 x 410 wheel as standard to 

its line, including the popular, 4axle 

(8 tyres) LTH 90 design. 

Experience has demonstrated 

that these give good service in 

most applications, as a rule of 

thumb up to 1000m of long travel, 

even with a full 90 tonne load, of 

which usually no more than 35 

tonnes is taken on the tractor fifth 

wheel via the gooseneck. 

Watts supplies a wide range of 

POB tyres for most applications 

and site operating conditions, including 

special compounds, low 

rolling resistance, electrically-conducting 

and non-marking white 

tyres. In addition, it offers a comprehensive 

lines of resilient solid 

tyres and bias-ply pneumatics under 

its Premia, Kargo-2, Fmcx and 

HPT brands. 

Watts’ tyre production is based 

in China, Sri Lanka and Brazil and 

the company manufactures all its 

wheels in the UK. ❏ 

Trelleborg’s French purchase 

Trelleborg Wheel Systems is a 

global supplier of tyres and complete 

wheel systems for agricultural 

and forestry equipment, FLTs 

and other materials handling 

equipment. The business area has 

annual sales of SEK3000 mill. 

Industrial tyre brands include 

Mastersolid and Bergougnan 3compound 

solid resilient tyres, 

Monarch “Soft Shoe” pneumaticshaped 

resilient tyres, T-900 bias 

ply pneumatic tyres and a wide 

range of POB tyres. ❏ 

Retreads for new trailers 

France, the UK, the Czech Republic 

and Hungary. 

Last year DFDS ordered 300 

Krone trailers fitted with 1800 

Bandag retreads as original equipment 

and clearly this was a success. 

“Compared with new tyres, 

Bandag tyre products are much 

cheaper,” stated Sören Lund, 

DFDS Transport’s equipment 

manager, “yet they deliver higher 

mileages and as-new reliability. 

“Bandag retreads also preserve 

valuable resources and are friendly 

to the environment which is an 

important asset both to DFDS 

Transport and to our customers.” 

Today, almost 90 per cent of 

DFDS Transport’s trailer tyres are 

Bandag BTR-SA retreads. ❏ 

October 2005

HEAVY LIFT 

Supply side problems for crane transport? 

ZPMC’s dominance of the container 

crane market and its ability to transport 

all its output has reduced the 

level of business once enjoyed in the 

sector by Dockwise. If the Dutch 

specialist reduces its commitment, 

other OEMs will have to look elsewhere 

but choice may be limited. 

Dockwise pioneered fully-erect crane 

transport by ship in its Dock Express days, 

largely with Konecranes. Its client base 

has shrunk, however, due to the ZPMC 

phenomenon and the strategic decision 

of Fantuzzi Noell that just 3-4 years ago 

was the number one supplier of ship-toshore 

container cranes and a key client of 

Dockwise to reduce its exposure in this 

sector and staunch its financial losses. 

Dockwise’s business is now basically 

limited to Korean and Japanese crane 

builders, along with European OEMs 

such as KCI Konecranes and Kalmar. 

OEMs such as Liebherr and Paceco 

España prefer to ship cranes in pieces or 

in part-big form and erect them on or 

near the site of use. Some others which 

ship erect cranes opt for barge transport 

wherever possible on cost grounds 

Sailing by 

Yacht transport is a more lucrative market 

for Dockwise today and currently in 

build for it is the world’s first purposebuilt 

vessel for this sector of the leisure 

market. When the vessel enters service 

next year, DOCK EXPRESS 12 - the dock 

ship currently used mainly for yacht shipments 

- may be scrapped as the company 

would not like it to be sold and then see 

it used commercially against it. 

This would leave DOCK EXPRESS 10 as 

the only dock-type ship able to lift container 

cranes using the extended stern 

outriggers, although Dockwise does have 

the Swan-class vessels which load/discharge 

cranes in a similar manner to the 

ZPMC ships. It could be argued that 

ZPMC showed the market that transverse 

stows are acceptable and safe and allowed 

Dockwise to adopt a similar system with 

the Swan ships. 

Dockwise may in any case pay less attention 

to crane transport if the offshore 

oil market picks up. The problem for crane 

makers is that most of the other heavy 

lift operators have vessels designed for 

project cargo based on a conventional hull 

form with maximum underdeck stowage 

and limited deck space that does not easily 

adapt to transporting large fully-erect 

container cranes. 

Cosco has flat top, semi-submersible 

heavy lift carriers, but these are aimed at 

the offshore market. Barge transport, as 

noted, is an option and operators such as 

CASH Bargteheide (Hamburg) have 

proved adept at deep sea shipments. But 

barges are often limited to a “weather 

window,” particularly in Asia. 

Bunker costs 

The ZPMC business model of providing 

competent crane designs at a relatively low 

price is based, in part, on providing an 

inclusive, erect crane delivery service. This 

in turn is a result of relatively low cost 

conversions using elderly Panamax-sized 

bulkers or tankers and low crewing and 

operating costs associated with Chinese 

manning and state registry. 

However, one area where ZPMC is 

on the same footing as everyone else is 

the rising cost of bunkers, which must be 

paid up front and in foreign currency, normally 

US$. Heavy fuel oil (IF-380) that 

most cargo ships burn shows no signs of 

falling to its previous levels. 

In July 2004, IF-380 was priced at 

US$166.5/tonne in Rotterdam and 

US$184/tonne in Singapore, whereas 

current prices are US$270/tonne and 

US$320/tonne respectively. Similarly 

marine diesel oil (MDO) that cost 

US$325/tonne ex-Rotterdam in July 

2004 and US$348/tonne in Singapore is 

now priced at US$520/tonne and 

US$530/tonne respectively. 

The full-bodied ZPMC vessels probably 

burn more than 30 tonnes/day, even 

at a moderate 11-13 knots, which would 

put the fuel bill for a 60 day trip to Europe 

or the USEC/Gulf ranges via the 

Cape of Good Hope at more than 

US$550,000 and well over US$1 mill for 

the complete voyage. 

Furthermore, the diesel generator sets, 

unlike current generation designs that can 

operate on similar fuel oils burnt in the 

main propulsion engine, will be fuelled 

by MDO and the ships do not have the 

benefit of shaft generators run by the main 

engine. Even at a moderate 5 tonnes/day 

just for one generator, the electrical fuel 

bill will comfortably exceed US$300,000 

for a China-Europe round trip and in all 

probability would be nearer to 

US$500,000 when taking account of the 

need to run two or three generators on 

some occasions. 

Of course all heavy lift operators face 

the same price hikes, but ZPMC is more 

exposed in that it operates a fleet of elderly, 

less fuel efficient ships that usually 

make the return trip to China with no 

paying cargo. Other heavy lift operators 

are in a much better position to minimise 

ballast sailings by picking up cargo 

to reposition the ships to the location of 

the next “headhaul.” 

The voyage charter may not return 

the same margins as a more specialised 

cargo, but at least it will cover the cost of 

the bunkers. Project cargo operators can 

also undertake multi-client transports 

with, say, the holds filled with one type 

of shipment and a deck load of cranes. 

They have another advantage in that 

they have more flexibility to pass on some 

of the rising fuel costs, whereas ZPMC, 

which carries its own cranes, may have 

to absorb more of the cost. It may now 

Jumbo Shipping came up with an ingenious 

solution to move three erect RTGs for Kalmar 

from Poland to Tercat in Barcelona earlier this 

year. As the RTGs could not all be stowed 

longitudinally on the deck of JUMBO SPIRIT, 

the middle one was stowed athwartships, 

supported on the starboard side by the 

improvised outriggers formed by welding two 

of the ship’s removable ’tweendeck hatch covers 

to the upper deck 

SMARTRAIL ® 

GETS YOU TO THE RIGHT CONTAINER, QUICKER. 

Kalmar Smartrail ® is the faster route to increasing the productivity of your RTG terminal. Fit Smartrail ® 

to your new or existing RTGs, and the automatic steering and container position verification features 

help you safely optimise handling speeds and reduce the risk of lost containers. 

And since Smartrail ® is based on the latest GPS technology, it requires none of the infrastructure 

of conventional container position verification systems. Plus it’s virtually service-free. 

For more information, visit our website or contact your Kalmar Representative. 

www.kalmarind.com 


news 

October 2005 43


news 

www.gokom.com 

44 

Left: DOCK EXPRESS 10 loading a second hand 

crane in Baltimore in the classic aft-sponson 

“forklift” method for transport to Algeria, for 

the account of Portek Equipment... 

be possible to increase crane prices to reflect 

the higher transportation costs, but 

contracts signed a year ago will have profit 

margins significantly eroded, not even 

taking into account the price of crane 

grade steel plate. However, steel prices can 

be covered by forward buying and contracted 

in local currency, while bunker 

fuel costs are not normally hedged. 

Bunching up 

One way to offset the higher operating 

costs incurred by rising bunker prices is 

to consolidate as many cranes as possible 

in one shipment, even though they may 

Our service is 

keeping you going fast 

Logistic performance is a matter of speed and reliability. Day after day, year in and year out. With the right service part- 

ner, logistic performance is quite simple to ensure and expand with determination. 

Consens sees to the speed and reliability of container crane systems (STS, RMG, RTG), of special cranes and, of course, of 

straddle carriers.We carry out inspections, maintenance and repair. Overhaul, modernization or complete refurbishment 

help old equipment to perform with increased efficiency. 

Our hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thanks to up-to-date tools we can carry out immediate remote 

diagnosis and maintenance even over long distances. If this does not put your vehicle back in running order, it is our 

spare parts and maintenance specialists who come forward. Anywhere in the world. And, of course, at top speed. 

For further information: www.consens-germany.com 

consens Transport Systeme GmbH ❙ Daimlerstraße 4 ❙ D-97209 Veitshoechheim ❙ contact@consens-germany.com 

mobility unlimited 

, 

HEAVY LIFT 

...and sailing up the Savannah River with 

giant new cranes from KCI Konecranes for 

GPA Savannah. The crane booms are lowered 

to clear the Savannah Bridge and note the 

“kink” below the sill beam to ensure fitment 

of the lower structure within the dock ship walls. 

There are crew atop the boom on the aft crane, 

presumably to measure clearance 

not all be destined for the same operator. 

ZPMC managed five superpost-Panamax 

cranes destined for three different terminals 

on the NAWC range (WorldCargo 

News, May 2005, p1). Similarly, when 

ZPMC delivers three superpost-Panamax 

cranes to Gothenburg next September 

next year, the ship will be carrying two 

cranes for another European destination. 

Over the side 

Although originally of a Panamax configuration 

with a 32m beam, most of the 

ZPMC fleet have additional side sponsons 

which take deck width to around 35m to 

allow the stowage of large rail gauge 

cranes transversely. If rail gauge exceeds 

35m, the cranes will have to be transported 

fore and aft. That will reduce the 

number that can be carried in a single 

shipment unless ZPMC decides to modify 

the ships with additional sponsons. 

A couple of terminal operators are 

known to have specified cranes with > 

40m rail centres to increase the number 

of ground handling lanes and because of 

concerns over wheel loads and wind loads 

as cranes get taller and longer (see 

WorldCargo News, July 2005, p25). 

It would be somewhat “cart before 

horse” if others were reluctant to do this 

because of crane transport limitations, but 

this may indeed be the case. A “compromise” 

rail gauge of 35m has been suggested 

in some quarters, but this is not 

really bold enough to tackle the “footprint” 

problem of “megamax” cranes. 

Getting a good fit 

DockWise’s dock type ships can carry 

only two large cranes and even then, with 

the latest generation superpost-Panamax 

units, the design has to be modified to sit 

either inside the hold or on the dock walls. 

The latest two KCI Konecranes’ cranes 

for GPA Savannah, for example, were specifically 

designed to be transported by a 

Dockwise dock type vessel. As the overall 

width of the portal frame is greater 

than the internal clearance between the 

dock walls, the design of the lower section 

above the bogies incorporated a 30 

deg angle to reduce the lower width. 

A further complication arose from the 

need to pass the cranes, which have a 61m 

outreach (22-wide) and an above rail lift 

height of 36.5m, under the Savannah 

Bridge that has a clearance of 56m (185ft). 

The boom, top A-frame and machinery 

house had to lowered between the portal 

legs, with those of the forward stowed 

crane lower than that of the after unit. 

This made the commissioning work more 

complex. Following delivery in late June 

after a 43 day voyage from the fabrication 

site in China (Xingang), the cranes 

were commissioned last month. 

Keeping busy 

While Dockwise experienced a strong 

2004, this year has not been as robust, although 

it still managed to transport 23 

cranes and 26 RTGs in 11 voyages. Six of 

were undertaken by DOCK EXPRESS 10, 

while 11 container cranes and 26 RTGs 

were transported by the Swan class ships. 

One Swan ship is currently on the water 

with 16 RTGs from Noell China in 

October 2005

HEAVY LIFT 

ZPMC’s ZHEN HUA 6 delivered five cranes in 

one shipment to three NAWC terminals earlier 

this year. This picture shows the ship offloading 

two cranes (orange, background) at TSI 

Vanterm, having already discharged one crane 

at TSI Deltaport. Subsequently the ship sailed 

to Long Beach with the two cranes for SSA 

Terminals. It is understood that the booms of 

the SSAT cranes were folded back due to 

limited horizontal clearance under the Gerald 

Desmond Bridge in Long Beach. The channel 

is very narrow under the bridge. (Photo: Alan 

Katowitz) 

Xiamen headed for P&O Ports’ Centerm, 

Vancouver, BC facility. 

Dockwise’s TEAL also carried six RTGs 

for Fantuzzi Noell group that were loaded 

in Xiamen along with two ship-to-shore 

cranes bound for Mundra in October. 

Another Swan class vessel, TERN, carried 

a mixed client consignment for Fantuzzi 

Noell when it loaded three cranes and 

two RTGs, also from Xiamen in June- 

July. One crane and the RTGs were discharged 

at Chennai and the other two 

cranes were delivered to Port Qasim. 

Other projects using DOCK EXPRESS 10 

this year included the two Doosan HI 

cranes transported from Changwon to 

Fraserport, BC. Booked for this December 

is a project to move two Paceco 

Portainers for Mitsui Engineering & 

Shipbuilding from Oita to Long Beach. 

Seconds helpings 

The dock ship “forklift” method using the 

extended aft sponsons (or outriggers) is 

still ideal for smaller cranes including second 

hand units. DOCK EXPRESS 10 has made 

three voyages this year carrying a total of 

six second-hand container cranes and two 

RTGs. Two cranes were moved from Fort 

de France, Martinique to Quebec and two 

more were carried for Portek. One was 

also loaded at Fort de France and the other 

in Baltimore, for delivery to the Port of 

Bejaïa in Algeria. The vessel also recently 

loaded two second hand cranes for Ican 

in Japan for Indonesia. 

Other project cargo operators are willing 

to enter the crane transport sector if 

they have a suitable ship available. However, 

as noted, the problem they face is 

that their ships are normally designed for 

underdeck stowage and have limited deck 

space that is further reduced by the pedestals 

of their high capacity shipboard 

cranes. 

Sometimes, however, even when they 

do not have a suitable vessel, a way can be 

found to carry a cargo. For example, 

Jumbo Shipping’s JUMBO SPIRIT was 

booked to carry three Kalmar RTGs from 

Gdynia to Tercat in Barcelona earlier this 

year, but three RTGs would not fit fore 

and aft on the vessel. 

Ingenuity 

Jumbo accordingly devised an unusual 

stowage pattern whereby two of the removable 

’tweendeck hatch covers were 

welded to the upper deck to support an 

RTG while the other two were stowed 

conventionally on the upper deck covers. 

The temporary hatch cover arrangement 

overhung the ships side by some 7m, but 

posed no navigational or safety problem. 

The RTGs were lifted off by the ship’s 

two 250 tonne cranes in Barcelona and 

the ’tweendeck covers were returned to 

their normal stowage. 

Biglift, formerly Mammoet and now 

owned by Spliethoff that regularly carries 

RTGs for Kalmar out of the Baltic 

also undertook an interesting move earlier 

this year when it carried a gantry grab 

Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH 

P.O. Box 10, A-6710 Nenzing/Austria 

Tel.: +43 5525 606-725 

Fax: +43 5525 606-447 

harbour.mobile.crane@lwn.liebherr.com 

www.liebherr.com 

unloader from Szczecin, Poland to 

Kwinana, near Fremantle, Australia. Prior 

to loading this unit, HAPPY RANGER had 

loaded 40m long blades and nacelles with 

hubs for 18 electric windmills in Southampton, 

UK and Grenaa, Denmark. 

The unloader, weighing 830 tonnes, 

was lifted by the ship’s cranes that are rated 

at 400 tonnes but were given special dispensation 

by the certification authorities. 

The unloader has a boom to backreach 

length of 62m, is 46.2m high and 33m 

wide and was stowed transversely. 

The vessel made the voyage in 40 days, 

including a bunker stop in Cape Town, 

although discharge was delayed due to 

storm conditions once the ship arrived 

in Kwinana. When the unloader was lifted 

ashore, the vessel sailed to Geraldton to 

discharge the wind farm components. ❏ 


news 

CASH Bargteheide (Hamburg) is a noted exponent of transoceanic crane shipments by 

barge, but this picture shows the last of three transports it made for Noell Konecranes, which 

had a contract to shift cranes around at HHLA’s Burchardkai using its FLUIDTS system 

Experience the 

progress. 

The Group 

October 2005 45


news 

Box seal standard edges closer 

After a year of heightened activity, 

the container security industry 

is still awaiting final ratification 

of its much heralded new 

standard covering the specification, 

manufacture and use of mechanical 

(or passive) security seals. 

A Publicly Available Specification 

(ISO/PAS 17712) was issued 

in January 2003 and is due to be 

upgraded to draft international 

standard (or DIS) status before the 

end of the current year following 

46 

The elevation of PAS 17712 to a full ISO standard, defining mechanical 

container seal strength, manufacture and operation, is inching closer 

a ballot amongst members of ISO- 

TC104 WG8. The DIS is then expected 

to proceed to full ISO approval 

early in 2006. 

Once achieved, the new standard 

will provide a definitive specification 

covering “high strength” 

mechanical container seals, including 

permissible minimum break- 

ing strength. It will also define the 

correct auditing procedures to be 

used by producers/suppliers and 

end-users. 

Slow progress 

The process of ratification has 

been a slow one, although given 

the wide diversity of interests in- 

volved in the debate, and the fact 

that container security has taken 

such a high profile in the wake of 

the “9/11” attacks, this is perhaps 

not surprising. Despite the growing 

determination of the global 

container transport industry to 

improve security, many of the issues 

remain complex and have 

needed detailed discussion. 

Recent developments in the 

US have been instructive, in that 

the introduction of new security 

rules has been hampered by delays 

and bureaucracy, which has 

slightly undermined the strong 

stance taken in the immediate aftermath 

of 9/11. The progress of 

ISO/PAS 17712 has been similarly 

subject to endless wrangling and 

revision throughout the past year. 

The US government was initially 

quick to respond to the 

threat of further terrorism by recognising 

the vulnerability of the 

existing global transport chain. 

Acting through the US Customs 

Service and newly formed Department 

of Homeland Security, 

it launched a number of initiatives 

from 2002 onwards, which have 

been instrumental in calling for 

tighter container security. 

The best known of these programmes 

is C-TPAT (Customs- 

Trade Partnership Against Terror- 

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US-bound containers that have been inspected by US Customs agents in 40 

ports around the world under the Container Security Initiative will be resealed 

with high security mechanical bolt seals 

ism), which has since attracted 

over 9000 voluntary members. 

Registration issue 

The difficulties of recent months 

have stemmed from the need for 

this large C-TPAT membership to 

be officially registered in order for 

new US container security regulations 

to be properly implemented. 

These (initially voluntary) 

rules were introduced in late May 

2005 and stipulate that all containers 

being imported into the US 

by registered C-TPAT members 

must be fitted with a mechanical 

“barrier” security seal of a minimum 

specified strength. 

The latter requirement has 

been defined by C-TPAT itself, 

but is based on the recommendation 

of ISO/PAS 17712. In simple 

terms, the rules state that a 

high-strength bolt seal should be 

fitted as a minimum requirement, 


and that an indicative strip is no 

longer sufficient when used on its 

own. C-TPAT members complying 

with this requirement are to 

receive a favourable “green channel” 

treatment by US Customs. 

In a similar vein, at the time of 

writing seal manufacturers were 

bidding to become the exclusive 

supplier of high security mechanical 

bolt seals for US Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP)’s worldwide 

Container Security Initiative 

(CSI). The approved bolt seals will 

be used to reseal US-bound containers 

that have been inspected 

by US Customs agents stationed 

at 40 foreign ports. 

The new C-TPAT rules, however, 

are only applicable to companies 

that have been formally 

registered as part of the C-TPAT 

programme and, by May 2005, 

these made up just 10 per cent of 

the total membership. Despite a 

subsequent stepping up of the registration 

process, it was reported 

that over 60 per cent of C-TPAT 

membership had still to be approved 

by September 2005. This 

left over 5000 organisations unregistered 

and so unable to work 

with the new regulations, and it is 

expected to take a further few 

months to complete the process. 

Predictably, the plans of the US 

government to frame the C- 

TPAT requirements in official legislation 

have since been put on 

hold and are likely to be delayed 

into next year. 

Wide endorsement 

Despite this setback, the World 

Customs Organisation (WCO) 

has already endorsed the US initiative 

in drawing up practical 

guidelines, and has strongly recommended 

them to representatives 

in its 166 member countries. 

The World Shipping Council 

(WSC) has been similarly supportive 

and was prompted in June 

2005 to deliver a paper reviewing 

maritime security as a whole at 

the US Maritime Trades Department 

2005 Convention. Presented 

by WSC president and chief executive 

officer, Christopher Koch, 

this presentation focused strongly 

New high strength 

container lock 

UK-based Prolock (Europe) 

Ltd has launched Pro-Lock 

2000, a new container/trailer 

locking system developed over 

an 18 month period by its research 

and development team in 

South Africa. 

Manufactured from stainless 

steel in the form of an integral 

hasp and sheath and coated with 

a corrosion-resistant epoxy finish, 

the Pro-Lock 2000 is designed 

to fit over the container’s 

right hand inner handle 

hub/retainer in such a way that 

there are no exposed parts that 

are vulnerable to cutting. Provision 

is made for fitting a bolt, 

cable or indicative Customs seal 

through the handle/retainer in 

the usual way. 

Simply fitted with four concealed 

bolts and supplied with 

reinforcing backing plates, the 

design incorporates an unpickable 

Abloy cylinder lock fitted 

underneath the locking device 

to prevent water and dust 

The Pro-Lock 2000 fits over the 

container’s handle hub/retainer 

from accumulating in the inner 

parts of the cylinder. A wide 

choice of keyways is available, 

from single keys per lock to 

multiple locks/keys and master 

key options. 

A lower cost mild steel version, 

similarly coated with a 

corrosion-resistant epoxy finish, 

is also available. Both versions 

can be supplied as fixed or removable 

locks depending on 

the application. 

Approved by the South African 

Institute of Assurors, the 

Pro-Lock 2000 system fits all 

existing container door locking 

gear designs and eliminates the 

need for a separate padlock, hasp 

and covering sheath in applications 

where a high degree of 

physical security is required. The 

new design is being targeted at 

both the container transport 

and static storage markets. ❏ 

October 2005


on the need to enhance container security 

and suggested practical measures. 

The WCO also made known its position 

in June 2005 by publishing a 50-page 

advisory document laying down standard 

industry practice for all Customs bodies to 

follow around the world. Entitled Framework 

of Standards to Secure and Facilitate World 

Trade, its recommendations are based on 

the voluntary C-TPAT initiative, which as 

suggested broadly embraces the principals 

of ISO/PAS 17712. Nevertheless, although 

the WCO and WSC have given their endorsement, 

both are waiting for the US to 

actually take the lead and enforce container 

security legislation. 

Major review 

June 2005 was also the month when ISO/ 

PAS 17712 underwent its final major review 

by WG8 at a key meeting in London 

and was broadly accepted subject to 

a few additional amendments. One of 

these centred on an earlier debate as to 

whether a seal’s serial numbering should 

be displayed on both the barrel and bolt 

sections. This requirement for a mandatory 

“double serial number” was rejected 

by the majority of members/experts (including 

most shipping lines), with only 

the UK still strongly in favour, and was 

thereby not incorporated into the final 

draft standard. 

Another refinement concerned the 

test procedure outlined in ISO/PAS 

17712 to ensure that seal manufacturers 

meet the necessary strength criteria for 

their products. The existing wording implied 

that any such testing would be carried 

out under the terms of ISO/IEC 

17025, which was understood by some 

seal suppliers participating in WG8 to 

alow use of in-house laboratory facilities. 

This was unacceptable to many WG8 

members, who maintained that all relevant 

testing should be carried out by third 

party organisations in order to ensure full 

integrity and the wording here has also 

been amended. 

It was earlier hoped that full ISO approval 

might have been gained by November 

2005, but bureaucracy and some 

last-minute political wrangling is inevitably 

causing additional delay and pushing 

the finalisation process into next year. 

However, in view of the backlog affecting 

the implementation of the new C- 

TPAT rules in the US, this delay in the 

ISO approval procedure may yet turn out 

to be fortuitous, as it now seems likely 

that the ratification of ISO/PAS 17712 

will coincide with a proper (and more 

Axscend for 

Gregory 

UK-based telecommunications technology 

specialist Axscend Ltd has won 

a contract to supply Gregory Distribution 

Ltd (GDL) with over 320 asset-tracking 

devices for fitting to the 

latter’s road trailer fleet. 

This is reported to be the largest 

single order for satellite-based trailer 

tracking devices to have been placed 

in Europe and is expected to improve 

trailer usage rates at GDL, a leading 

UK regional distribution company. 

Axscend is a subsidiary of BCM 

(Transport) Ltd. Its tracking system is 

claimed to be easy to use and provides 

key information in support of trailer 

management operations. Simple to install, 

the durable mobile asset tracking 

device has a battery life of up to seven 

years and there is no requirement to 

purchase/install additional software, as 

all users of Axscend technology gain 

access to a secure on-line portal. 

The Axscend network is wholly satellite-based 

and offers reliable global 

coverage with no roaming charges. It 

utilises GPS and latest ViaMichelin 

web-mapping technology and can pinpoint 

the location of trailers operating 

within the system to an individual street 

across Europe and beyond. 

GDL is the latest European road 

freight transport operator to opt for 

Axscend equipment for its trailer fleet. 

Other recent customers include TDG, 

Confern, Containerpool and Clipper 

Group. ❏ 

binding) adoption of the new US regulations. 

The latter will obviously gain further 

credibility once the existing ISO/ 

PAS 17712 recommendations are fully 

embodied in a new ISO standard, while 

the new standard will itself be made more 

relevant by the implementation of the 

new US rules. 

Waiting game 

In the meantime, the container transport 

industry has to play a waiting game, although 

it is already apparent that the use 

of bolt (and cable) seals is becoming more 

commonplace and further displacing indicative 

types on most trade routes. Major 

suppliers, such as EJ Brooks, Oneseal 

and TydenBrammall, all report increased 

sales of high security products and anticipate 

a further increase from the first 

Organised by 

Supported by 

quarter of 2006 ahead of the expected 

developments on the regulatory and 

standardisation fronts. 

As indicated earlier, both the WCO 

and WSC are eager for the new ISO 

standard to be formalised, as are most suppliers, 

including members of ISMA (the 

International Seal Manufacturers Association), 

whose members account for over 

80 per cent of world production of high 

strength security seals. As it is, the vast 

majority of seal manufacturers already 

meet the criteria laid down in ISO/PAS 

17712, which necessitates a transparency 

of operation, allowing past records to be 

scrutinised and provision for all existing 

and new products to be tested/evaluated 

independently. 

At least one major supplier suggested 

that the overall market for container se- 

The Shipping Ports 

and Terminals Event for Asia 

curity products has itself become more 

transparent in recent months, with increased 

sales being made direct to export/ 

import firms rather than to shipping lines. 

This has, in part, been due to the latest 

bout of mergers affecting leading shipping 

lines, such as Hapag-Lloyd/CP Ships 

and Maersk Sealand/P&O Nedlloyd, although 

it is also a function of the lines 

shifting responsibility for security to their 

shipper customers. Furthermore, many 

shippers have themselves elected to take 

security more seriously and are more 

thoroughly checking their containers at 

the point of initial loading and sealing. 

This situation has had both positive 

and negative effects on seal suppliers. Although 

shippers have always tended to opt 

for heavier duty, and thus more expensive, 

products than shipping lines have tra- 

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NOELL CRANE SYSTEMS 

• GOTTWALD PORT 

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• PSION 

• PUSAN NEWPORT GROUP 

• SAVCOR ONE 

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• SIEMENS 


news 

ditionally done, production runs are 

smaller and thus result in a higher manufacturing 

cost per seal. A typical shipper 

may order several hundred seals at a time, 

whereas shipping lines usually buy in 

thousands. In short, the sale of higher 

strength seals, including bolt, cable and 

barrier types, are generally up, but a more 

diverse spread of customers has to be catered 

for. 

Electronic designs 

The imminent creation of a new standard 

from PAS 17712 could prompt the 

development of a further crop of new mechanical 

seal designs/models, although 

many producers have perfected their 

ranges in recent years and any further refinements 

may only be minor in nature. 

The same cannot be said, however, 

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BOOK YOUR STAND NOW CALL: +44 20 7017 4394 

October 2005 47


news 

for electronic seal development, 

where product research and 

evaluation is continuing apace 

and standardisation remains some 

way from being realised. 

Although much of the problem 

has centred on selecting the 

most suitable RFID frequency 

and communications protocol, 

high production costs and the 

practicality of running “smart” 

technology in potentially harsh 

environments are also factors that 

are currently deterring any widespread 

commercial acceptance of 

the e-seal. 

The need to draw up a standard 

covering electronic seals is 

being debated by ISO-TC104 

WG18185, which was convened 

several years ago. It comprises 

around 15 experts, including commercial 

and regulatory representatives 

from the container transport 

industry, plus technology providers 

headed by Savi Technology, GE 

and Motorola. 

WG18185 appeared to be 

making progress earlier in 2005, 

although a more recent meeting 

in Berlin was less conclusive. Previously, 

the 433.92 MHz frequency 

had received strong support 

as a working proposition for 

48 

use with one-trip container seals, 

but questions have since been 

raised as to whether this frequency 

has the strength to give a 

precise reading over the variable 

and often large distances commonly 

encountered within box 

terminals. 

Instead, there has been talk of 

selecting a still higher frequency 

to read future generations of disposable 

electronic bolt seal. Furthermore, 

technology providers 

(most notably Motorola) still have 

concerns about the security of the 

basic e-seal design and its vulnerability 

to “spoofing” or other types 

of hacking by criminals 

The high cost of e-seal development 

also remains an issue, as 

finished prices will have to fall before 

there is any widespread uptake. 

According to one would-be 

supplier, a single disposable electronic 

seal is currently priced at 

anything up to US$50, although 

it would need to be a US$2-3 to 

attain commercial viability. 

Back to basics 

The outcome of the most recent 

WG18185 meeting was something 

of a “return to basics.” A field 

trip has been planned for early 

October to thoroughly test current 

designs of electronic seal at 

three ports in Asia in a renewed 

attempt to identify practical problems 

associated with checking/ 

capturing e-seal data within a 

working port environment. 

E-seal interrogation will be 

carried out at various “awkward” 

locations, such as when containers 

are positioned beneath the 

housing of a gantry crane, at the 

terminal gate or positioned enddoor 

to end-door on a chassis or 

within a stack. 

The main aim is to ascertain 

the seals’ ability to be read repeatedly 

over different distances, 

around obstacles, in dirty conditions 

and in different weather conditions. 

The findings will be discussed 

at a review meeting in 

Nagoya at the end of October. 

On current form, therefore, 

the commercial deployment of eseals 

seems unlikely to become 

reality for at least another year or 

two, although other developments 

could yet accelerate their introduction. 

One outcome of the 

aforementioned implementation 

of new regulations under the C- 

TPAT programme, which will 

necessitate the use of higher se- 

curity mechanical container seals, 

is that more thorough, foolproof 

and rapid container checking procedures 

will have to be adopted 

at ports. 

Most experts accept that this 

can only be achieved by using 

greater automation, whereby seal 

numbers are read more speedily 

and accurately using a remote 

reader. Any such development will 

involve participation by shippers, 

shipping lines, terminal operators 

and Customs officials, all of which 

would then have a vested interest 

in utilising e-seal technology. 

Large investment 

Technology providers are also 

naturally keen to push forward the 

e-seal cause because of the large 

investment already made and the 

potentially huge payback. 

Savi Technology, as an example, 

is further refining its already 

highly developed system as a response 

to feedback coming from 

WG18185. This US firm has long 

been a frontrunner in providing 

e-seal technology because of its 

longstanding experience in the 

field of RFID communications 

and its existing large global network 

platform infrastructure, 

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which has been deployed for 

military applications. 

One key development of the 

past year was the formation with 

Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) 

of a new US$50 mill joint venture 

company, Savi Networks 

LLC, which is building a global 

RFID-based information network 

(Savi Trak) to track/manage containerised 

cargo worldwide (see 

WorldCargo News April 2005, p1). 

The new venture is installing active 

RFID equipment and software 

in participating ports around 

the world, and has already been 

given access to HPH’s global facilities. 

Savi will operate the new 

tracking systems and licence all 

software use. 

Most recently, Savi Networks 

has been testing its third-generation 

ST-676 ISO Container Security 

Tag, which clamps onto the 

container door, as well as the EJ 

Brooks RFID-enabled electronic 

bolt seal in a series of trials with 

the Japanese Mitsui Group involving 

the shipment of consumer 

products from a factory in China 

to a distribution facility in southern 

California (see WorldCargo 

News September 2005, p23). 

Both the ST-676 tag and the 

Brooks e-seal utilise the 

433.92MHz radio frequency, 

compliant with ISO 18000-7. The 

ST-676, which uses a door sensor 

and light sensor to detect security 

breaches, as well as temperature, 

Leading container security seal 

manufacturer, TydenBrammall, 

has added the XBorder cable seal 

to its already extensive range of 

high security mechanical container 

seals. 

The new design features a 

0.25in galvanised non-preformed 

cable with a pull-apart 

force of over 8000 lbs, which is 

designed to be fastened around 

the container door locking rods 

via a black, zinc-plated steel 

locking mechanism that makes 

cargo tampering virtually impossible 

without detection. The 

cable has to be removed using 

large cable cutters and frays 

when cut to prevent reuse and 

render any tampering as evident. 

The standard cable length is 

14in, although longer versions 

are available in 2in increments. 

The lock body can be colour-coded 

and/or engraved for 

tracking purposes and is further 

available with TydenBrammall’s 

exclusive “Laser Tag” serial 

number transfer system. 

TydenBrammall envisages 

that the XBorder seal will be 

used by companies shipping hazardous 

materials, ammunition 

and explosives and other highrisk 

cargo shipments, such as 

currency and cigarettes. It is 

compliant with the C-TPAT 

programme and meets the ISO/ 

PAS 17712 (2005) specification 

for high security seals. 

Another recently launched 

high security product is the 


humidity and shock sensors to 

capture information on environmental 

conditions inside the container, 

is able to communicate 

wirelessly with the Savi Trak information 

network to provide information 

on the container’s location 

and condition, as well as 

container door opening intrusions 

and other security breaches. 

Alternative solution 

Savi Networks will not, however, 

have the e-seal/tracking market all 

to itself as an alternative to Savi 

Trak - Intelligent Trade Lane - has 

been launched by IBM and 

Maersk Logistics,. 

The new IBM/Maersk solution 

combines two emerging 

technologies: intelligent real-time 

tracking devices called TREC 

(Tamper-Resistant Embedded 

Controllers), which are fitted to 

the container and automatically 

collect information on parameters 

such as temperature, humidity and 

sensory readings to detect breaches 

of security, as well as communicating 

physical location via GPS; 

and a fully integrated network that 

combines data from the TREC 

devices with a non-proprietary 

sensor network and business integration 

system to provide realtime 

visibility. 

Phase 1 field testing of the new 

system will begin in early November, 

to be followed by a large commercial 

pilot in March 2006. ❏ 

More high security 

seals launched 

TydenBrammall’s new XBorder cable 

seal used in figure of 8 configuration 

Clear Bolt Seal from Acme Seals 

Ltd, of the UK. This is a heavy 

duty device, offering a tensile 

strength greater than 1500kg, 

and comprises a metal bush and 

push-in bolt, both of which are 

coated with high visibility 

polypropylene material. 

The locking bush is lubricated 

to resist friction attack and 

completed encapsulated within 

a clear acrylic casing. Serial 

numbers are carried on both 

locking section and bolt pin to 

counter any substitution of 

parts. The sequential numbering 

is either foil marked on the 

polypropylene internal bush or 

laser etched through the clear 

acrylic onto the poly-propylene 

surface, thereby creating a signature 

mark that is visible 

through the clear casing but impossible 

to remove. 

The Clear Bolt Seal is also 

fully compliant with ISO/PAS 

17712 and C-TPAT. 

● Indian seal manufacturer, 

Safcon Security Seal, has meanwhile 

enhanced its standing in 

recent months by attaining an 

ISO 9001:2000 certification. 

This has been awarded in recognition 

of the company’s ongoing 

commitment to implement 

all ISO requirements covering 

the design, manufacture 

and distribution of container 

security seal products. ❏ 

October 2005


Dry bulk liner market still growing 

The manufacture of one-trip dry 

bulk container liners has become 

a truly global business in recent 

years as they are used in ever-growing 

numbers to transport free flowing goods 

in single containerloads. 

Annual production already runs into 

millions, with an increased share now 

coming from low-cost producers in 

China and India, as well as the Americas, 

Europe, Australia, South East Asia and 

South Africa. Long gone are the days 

when production and sales were dominated 

by a few key brands and largely 

exclusive to suppliers based in the US, 

UK and Europe. 

Cost effective 

Demand has been driven by the proven 

economics of using disposable container 

liners, which benefit exporter, consignee 

and container operator alike. Their deployment 

has more than doubled since 

the late 1990s and, according to most experts, 

is still growing at over 15 per cent 

per annum. 

Much of this expansion has been fuelled 

by the continuing growth in the global 

trading of agricultural produce, as well as 

polymers, minerals, fertilisers and other 

chemicals, all of which now move by container 

and often provide a useful backhaul 

move, eg from the US west coast to Asia. 

In addition, there has been a concerted 

shift by many shippers and their 

consignees away from handling bagged 

shipments in small lots. This has usually 

been accompanied by a substantial investment 

in mechanised dry bulk transfer 

and storage facilities. 

The cost savings are easy to quantify. 

A single-trip 20ft container liner can substitute 

up to 900 individual 25kg sacks, 

reducing handling charges by up to 50 

per cent and greatly simplifying the whole 

procedure. The loading/discharge processes 

can be managed within a few minutes 

and there is none of the disposal 

problem associated with small bags. One 

liner can similarly displace up to 25 single-tonne 

flexible intermediate bulk containers 

FIBCs), which accounts for the 

interest the container liner now holds for 

many FIBC manufacturers. 

As it is, the number of companies 

manufacturing liners has mushroomed 

over the past five years and new entrants 

are still continually appearing. Many have 

added new designs suited for the carriage 

of more complex products, including 

dense, fine-ground, coagulating, 

hygroscopic, pre-heated or temperature 

sensitive materials. Numerous suppliers 

also provide customised models, supported 

by bespoke consulting services, 

while they can increasingly advise on, or 

even source, suitable pneumatic loading 

and discharge equipment, which is suitable 

for use with their liners. 

Full range 

Liners are currently manufactured for all 

container lengths, including 20ft, 30ft, 40ft, 

45ft and 53ft, and the growing output of 

40ft and larger sizes is generating even 

greater savings per shipment. Apart from 

the 30ft liner, which is dedicated for use 

with top-loading, usually palletwide, bulk 

container equipment in Europe, all other 

sizes can be fitted within standard dry 

freight equipment and loaded through the 

end doors. Just about all liners produced 

today are full recyclable, and incorporate a 

lightweight in-built bulkhead and simplified 

loading/discharge points. 

There have long been two standard 

designs of dry freight liner, one of which 

is made from extruded polyethylene (PE) 

film and the other from woven material, 

either polypropylene (PP) or high-density 

polyethylene. The former type is heatwelded 

and so provides an impermeable 

barrier to moisture or other contamination. 

The woven type is sewn into its bag 

format and, if lined, can similarly offer 

protection from moisture penetration. 

However, an unlined version has the 

ability to “breathe” and is suited for the 

carriage of many foodstuffs, which produce 

condensation and thus need to be 

constantly aired to avoid any build up of 

mould or other bacterial growth. 

The use of liners for containerising free-flowing dry bulk products 

has become increasingly commonplace and is still attracting 

new suppliers into the field 

The woven design has always been a 

cheaper option, although the price differential 

between it and its extruded counterpart 

has narrowed in recent years. Woven 

liners can today be sourced for less than 

US$50 per 20ft from the cheapest suppliers, 

while many extruded versions are available 

for US$100 or less. Although higher 

oil prices are forcing up material costs, nei- 

All over the world Antwerp 

Dubai 

Genoa 

Gothenburg 

Hamburg 

Hong Kong 

Lisbon 

London 

Madras 

New York 

Rio de Janeiro 

San Francisco 

Seoul 

Shanghai 

Singapore 

Sydney 

Taipei 

Tokyo 

ther of the two liner types has increased 

much in price so far, such is the ongoing 

strength of competition existing between 

new and established suppliers. 

All round protection 

The cheapest types of woven and extruded 

liner are principally designed to 

maximise product protection and prevent 

Contact your local Cronos office or visit www.cronos.com 

contamination from the container. A more 

expensive version is the full “barrier” liner, 

whose function is to protect the container 

interior from the product being carried. 

This is of heavier duty multi-ply construction 

and used mainly for the containment 

A 20ft bulk container liner can replace up to 

900 x 25kg sacks or 25 x 1 tonne FIBCs 

The Cronos fleet includes 20´ and 40´ Rolltrailers – the solution 

to unconventional loads – with 62´ available for extra long loads 

• Steel floor support 

for stacking 

• Container 

fixing points 

• 80 tons up to 120 tons 

• Low overall height – 700mm 

• Big wheels 

22´´ on 80 and 100 ton units 

28´´ on 120 ton units 

• Wooden decking 

• Heavy steel frame 

• Stanchion pockets 

• Safety hooks 


news 

Cronos Rolltrailers 

Global support 

• Full length 

lashing bars 

• Solid tyres 

on large wheels 

• Fork lift pockets 

See us at 

Intermodal Transport 

& Logistics – Stand D48 

Bilbao, Spain 

8-10 November 2005 

October 2005 49


news 

of animal hides or hazardous waste 

(such as batteries or scrap metal) 

being shipped for recovery. 

A yet more complex design is 

the thermal liner, adapted for 

transporting temperature sensitive 

materials, which usually comprises 

a toughened polyester layer in addition 

to a metallic (aluminium) 

foil barrier and PE sheet. This type 

of liner is naturally much more 

expensive than the standard type, 

50 


news 

December issue 

ANNUAL FINLAND AND 

BALTIC AREA SURVEY 

typically costing several hundred 

dollars, and is produced by a far 

smaller number of suppliers. Nevertheless, 

demand is growing fast, 

and thermal liners have proven 

particularly popular with shippers 

wanting to protect individual pallet-loads 

within a container. 

Overseas production 

Despite the appearance of many 

new competitors in recent years, 

Plus Special Reports on: 

Fork Lift Trucks/Reach Stackers ● Engines 

Grabs ● Container Flooring ● Desiccants 

Special Review: Tank Operators 

Closing date for 

advertisement 

reservations 

December 14th 2005 

For further information contact 

+44 1372 375511 (tel) 

+44 1372 370111 (fax) 

email: sales@wcnpublishing.com 

www.worldcargonews.com 

The well-known Insta-Bulk Global 

Liner now forms part of the Dacro 

range following the merger of Dacro 

and Insta-Bulk in 2004. All 

production is carried out at Dacro’s 

plant in Shenzhen, China 

the global manufacture of standard 

container liners is still dominated 

by a handful of established 

names headed by Powertex Inc 

and Richards Group in the US, 

ITW-Dacro of the Netherlands, 

and UK-based Linertech and 

Philton Polythene Converters. 

Most of the established players 

now produce their liners overseas 

in order to cut costs and maintain 

their competitive edge. Dacro, based 

in Rotterdam, was one of the first 

to opt for such a strategy, shifting 

its entire production of woven 

HDPE liners to a new purposebuilt 

factory in Shenzhen, China, 

in 1995. Much of this output has 

since gone for the carriage of malt, 

grain and other staple foodstuffs, as 

well as polymers and chemicals. 

In 2004, Dacro acquired control 

of the product range of former 

US marker leader, Insta-Bulk, following 

the merger of the two 

companies by their common parent 

company ITW Group. Dacro 

has since fully integrated the best 

known Insta-Bulk models, including 

the Global Liner and Enviro- 

Liner designs, and relocated their 

production from its former site in 

the southern US to the Shenzhen 

plant in China. 

Both GlobaLiner and Enviro- 

Liner are made from extruded PE 

and used mainly for the transport 

of polymers and other precursor 

chemicals. Dacro, armed with its 

enhanced product range, now 

competes more effectively with its 

largest rivals and has succeeded in 

securing additional market share. 

Long history 

Powertex is the longest established 

US producer of container liners, 

having been active at Rouses Point 

(New York) since 1977 when it 

first launched its SeaBulk model. 

However, this company is now 

also producing a growing share of 

its liners overseas, in China and India, 

in an effort to hold down selling 

prices and meet demand in the 

Far East/Pacific Rim more effectively. 

The Chinese plant is located 

in Qingdao and has been operational 

since early 2002. A joint 

venture Indian factory started production 

in August 2003. All stages 

of manufacture are carried out at 

these plants, without any need for 

outside intervention. 

Established FIBC manufacturer Synthetic Polybulk AS is one of a number of 

big bag producers to have added bulk container liners to its range 

Each is targeting a specific sector 

of the market, with the more 

standard SeaBulk being manufactured 

in Qingdao and a lower-cost 

version in India. The Chinese-produced 

design incorporates a flexible 

bulkhead made from corrugated 

fibreboard, but is otherwise 

constructed from the same specification 

of extruded PE film as 

used in the US. 

A cheaper cross-laminated PE 

liner is made at the Indian site, 

offering the same strength as woven 

PE, but featuring a barrier to 

moisture that is claimed to be 

comparable to fine extruded PE 

film. The bulkhead is made from 

the same flexible cross-laminate 

material. 

As Powertex has moved an increasing 

share of its manufacturing 

overseas, the US headquarters 

has concentrated on further developing 

its consulting arm 

through a new Project Management 

division. This advises prospective 

clients on the most effective 

and rapid way to implement 

a bulk liner shipping method and 

on various logistic considerations. 

Powertex US also formally offers 

a range of mechanised loading/ 

discharge equipment, designed 

specifically for use with container 

liners, having earlier entered into 

alliances with local suppliers, including 

Dynamic Air and Phelps. 

Caretex, of Denmark, is another 

supplier to have moved 

much of its production overseas, 

while focusing on product development 

at its home site. Its range 

of extruded PE liners is manufactured 

at a purpose-built factory in 

Thailand, while the company also 

offers a unique patented closed 

discharge system, recently perfected 

in Denmark. This allows the 

consignment to be transferred 

from the liner to a waiting silo 

without any contact with the external 

atmosphere. 

Many other suppliers operate 

in a broadly similar way, including 

ACL Globalliners (Netherlands), 

Norseman (Canada), 

CorrPak Bulk Packaging Systems 

and Global Flexi Systems (both in 

US) and Synthetic Polybulk AS 

(SPB) of Norway). 

These suppliers carry out their 

volume manufacture of liners at 

various sites in the Far East or elsewhere, 

while using their respective 

head offices to accomplish 

research/development and provide 

technical support. 

Recent entrants 

SPB is a relatively new container 

liner supplier. It was initially setup 

to provide FIBC products to 

industrial and transport end-users 

in the Nordic/Baltic region but 

has more recently added 20ft and 

40ft container liners (known as 

DBC - Dry Bulk Container) to 

its range. The Norwegian company 

is headquartered in Brevik, 

but forms part of Thrace Plastics 

Co, a manufacturing conglomerate 

based in Greece, and can offer 

DBC liners made either from 

woven PP or extruded PE. 

SPB’s most recent venture has 

been to extend its marketing/sales 

operation into other parts of Europe 

and to the US and Middle 

East. Its production of FIBCs and 

liners is currently carried out 

British Sugar, owned by Associated 

British Foods, is one recent 

convert to container liners, having 

previously used one tonne 

FIBCs for the majority of its 

containerised shipments. 

The company refines around 

1500 tonnes of sugar every day 

at its UK plant in Wissington. 

Norfolk, using beet grown locally 

in East Anglia, and provides 

60 per cent of the sugar required 

by food and beverage manufacturers 

in the UK. The balance is 

exported to the EU and elsewhere. 

Previously British Sugar 

purchased around 60,000 FIBCs 

annually from UK supplier, 

Structure-Flex Ltd, but has since 

switched to greater use of onetrip 

container liners, particularly 

for its overseas transport. This 

followed the launch by Structure-Flex 

of its own design of 

container liner in 2003. 

The main factor encouraging 

the change was the time and 

consequent labour saving associated 

with using a single liner 

per 20ft container, in place of 

over 20 FIBCs, plus the fact that 

a larger volume of product could 

often be loaded per shipment. 

British Sugar explained that, in 

some instances, FIBCs have to 

be stowed on pallets, which take 

up valuable space within the 

container. 


across a “network of production 

units” and a new licensing system, 

known as “Portabulk,” has been 

established recently to extend the 

manufacturing franchise. 

The company reports that its 

DBC liners have, to date, been 

used to carry products as varied 

as rice, wheat, sugar, coffee, malt, 

seeds and fertilisers, as well as nonhazardous 

chemicals. 

Another recent entrant is 

AmeriGlobe Corp, based in Louisiana, 

USA, which has been an 

FIBC manufacturer since 1985, 

but has now launched its own 

design of woven PP container 

liner. The company has opted to 

carry out production at its home 

and to serve a local market. 

AmeriGlobe produces two 

versions of 40ft liner, for fitting 

into standard (8ft 6in) height or 

high cube equipment. The liner 

walls utilise material of 110g/m 2 

density, while the bulkhead section 

is of 210g/m 2 gauge and the 

discharge spout is protected by a 

cover of 300g/m 2 density. The rear 

of the liner bag is positioned by 

way of steel cross-bars and snaphook 

clip attachments, while the 

front bulkhead is also secured by 

way of steel crossbars, which are 

available from a separate supplier, 

JIT Corp in Houston. 

A highly specialised manufacturer 

of liners, which has similarly 

maintained production at its home 

base is Oellerking Qualitatsplanen 

GmbH in Germany. The company 

recently introduced a newly patented 

bulkhead bracing system for 

its bulk liner bags, which have 

been in production for over 20 

years. 

The redesigned bulkhead utilises 

flexible straps and removes the 

need for steel locking bars. 

Oellerking is another company to 

offer a highly customised service, 

together with technical advice. 

UK boost 

Linertech of the UK has long been 

producing liner bags in volume, but 

received a substantial boost in 2002 

when it was acquired by United 

Transport International (UTI). The 

latter is parent to United Bulk 

Container (UBC), which is the 

largest dry bulk logistics provider 

Sweetening the load 

for British Sugar 

The 20ft dry bulk liner provided 

by Structure-Flex comprises 

a heavy duty woven PP 

bag and comes complete, in kit 

form, with all the necessary 

cords, hooks, wooden anchor, 

and metal restraining bars required 

for securing purposes. 

The container can be prepared 

for loading within 15 minutes 

and is gravity filled by way 

of an overhead chute. A maximum 

of 25,000kg is usually 

loaded per 20ft unit in this way, 

with the process taking just 10- 

15 minutes. Discharge, at the receiving 

end, can be accomplished 

in almost as short a time. 

Total vehicle turnaround time is 

put at around 40 minutes. 

The Structure-Flex liners, 

are viewed by British Sugar as 

being realistically priced and inherently 

reliable, which is vital 

as a single mishap could prove 

expensive. Structure-Flex is also 

located in Norfolk, near the 

Wissington plant, and is able to 

respond rapidly to any seasonal 

variation in the volumes being 

processed and transported as a 

result of changes in the sugar 

content of the beet. 

Even though British Sugar 

has a policy of dual sourcing, 

Structure-Flex is now meeting 

two thirds of the company’s bulk 

liner requirement. ❏ 

October 2005


in Europe and has more recently expanded 

on to the world stage through its re-branding 

as UBC World Bulk. 

UBC operates over 15,000 x 30ft bulk 

containers within its European network 

and is one of the biggest end-users of container 

liner bags in the world. It has long 

been an important customer of Linertech 

and, more recently, has been responsible 

for a substantial expansion of the latter’s 

manufacturing capacity, including the 

start-up of production in India. 

Over 200,000 liners are now being 

produced annually by Linertech. A big 

share is destined for UBC World Bulk, 

although a growing volume of sales is 

being made to third-party deepsea shippers 

and lines. The Indian operation commenced 

two years ago, adding to 

Linertech’s existing manufacturing sites 

in the UK (Elland, Yorkshire) and Eire. 

Both Linertech and UBC World Bulk 

have further strengthened their presence 

in the Pacific Rim/Australian regions by 

forging links with local companies based 

in Australia (JMP Holdings), New Zealand 

and Malaysia/Singapore. JMP Holdings, 

in addition to marketing the 

Linertech range, also produces its own 

version of thermal liner (ETL) in Malaysia. 

Linertech’s main competitor in the 

UK is Philton Polythene Converters, 

which opened a dedicated subsidiary plant 

in China during 2002. This has since 

gained ISO 9000 accreditation and been 

brought up to full-scale production. The 

Chinese factory makes extruded and 

woven versions of liner, and has freed up 

capacity at the main UK site for Philton 

to continue research and the more specialised 

manufacture of thermal and safety 

liners. 

Philton stresses that, although its Chinese 

operation has held down finished 

prices and helped it to retain a competitive 

edge, there has been no sacrifice in 

terms of quality and production from 

China is indistinguishable from that carried 

out in the UK. Product rejection is 

put at less than 0.001 per cent (equivalent 

to one bag failing in every 10,000) 

for both plants, and the checking procedure 

in China is as rigorous as that carried 

out at the UK plant. 

Quality control 

Philton’s remarks on the need for good 

quality control are echoed by other suppliers 

operating offshore satellite plants 

and reflect the way the container liner 

business has progressed in recent years. 

High standards are, of course, essential for 

the industry’s survival. A leaky bag can 

result, at the very least, in an expensive 

clean-up operation and can also be a potential 

environmental hazard. It can further 

lead to hefty insurance claims, involving 

both product and container 

After the horror stories of past years, 

however, when ultra-cheap liners of inferior 

manufacture were reportedly being 

shipped into the US in large numbers, 

most suppliers/end-users indicate 

that output quality has generally improved 

worldwide. 

As production has increasingly shifted 

into lower-cost areas, including India and 

China, local manufacturers have rapidly 

become familiar with the technology, 

perfected their designs and reduced the 

incidence of product failure. There have 

also been further advances in manufacturing 

techniques. 

Independent moves 

Not all liner bag production in low cost 

manufacturing areas is, however, controlled 

by the more established suppliers in 

the west. Inevitably, independent local 

companies, many of which are already actively 

producing FIBCs, have entered the 

market and are making their presence felt. 

One such company is Bulk Containers 

India Pvt Ltd (BCI), which is based in 

Pune, around 160 km from the Bombay 

port area, and is already established as a 

leading local exporter of FIBCs. BCI produces 

a wide range of these smaller bags, 

all made from woven PP, with the material 

used ranging in density from 100g/ 

m 2 to 250g/m 2 . 

The company recently started producing 

its own range of container liners, comprising 

woven and extruded versions, at 

its 5000m 2 factory and currently sells to 

end-users in Australia, the UK, Germany 

and Russia. It has agents present in Singapore, 

Canada, Russia and Australia. 

In China, Shanghai Shangjin P&P 

Products Co has been manufacturing and 

exporting container liners for over five 

years. Much of its production goes to endusers 

in Europe. 

Shanghai Shangjin has ISO 9001-2000 

accreditation and its range includes 20ft 

(240cm x 240cm x 595cm) and 40ft 

(240cm x 240cm x 1200cm) types, made 

from woven PE. The standard model is 

coated on one side and features a material 

density of 140g/m 2 for the large panels 

and heavier 210g/m 2 material for the 

bulkhead and loading/discharge spout. 

The liners also feature a carbine hook and 

loop system to maximise securing, while 

the loading/discharge spout may be custom 

designed. The company is currently 

offering 20ft liners at a batch price (per 

500) of US$46.60 per unit, with the 40ft 

costing around US$73.50 each (per batch 

of 260). All liners are supplied in baled or 

palletised loads. 

Other independent manufacturers 

evaluating the potential for container liner 

manufacture are Hebei Fuhua Plastic Co, 

which is one of the largest producers of 

FIBCs in northern China, and Matai (Vietnam) 

Co. The latter was established in 

the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, 

outside Ho Chi Minh City in 1996 and 

has since expanded its sales of the 

“Maicon” brand across Asia. It forms part 

of Nihon Matai, of Japan. ❏ 

Shanghai Shangjin has been manufacturing 

its own design of dry bulk container liner in 

China for the past five years 


news 

Forklifts 10-52 t · Logstackers 9-28 t 

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®

FOR SALE - USED EQUIPMENT 

3 Reach stackers: 

• 2 x PPM TFC45 – 2000 

• 1 x PPM TR45-28 CE – 2004 

• Very good condition 

4 x Empty container handlers: 

• 1 x Kalmar DCD70-40E5 – 1997 

• 1 x Kalmar DCD80-45E7 – 1998 

• 1 x Kalmar/Sisu TD6ECR – 1993 

• 1 x Kalmar/Sisu TD6ECR – 1995 

• Very good working condition 

5 x Forklift – Frontloader: 

• 1 x Kalmar DC42-1200 – 1987 

• 1 x Kalmar DC20-1200 – 1993 

• 2 x Kalmar DCD136-6 – 2001 

• 1 x Fantuzzi FDC160 – 1998 

• All in very good working condition 

8 x Terminal tractor: 

• 1 x Terberg TT17 (4x2) – 1991 

• 1 x Terberg YT17 (4x2) – 1996 

• 5 x Terberg RT20 (4x4) – 1991/1992/1995/1998 

• 1 x Terberg RT22 (4x4) – 2000 

• Very good condition

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