The pressure of demand on local coal supplies in India is growing rapidly with an increase in coal-fired power and steel plants. However domestic output has been curtailed due to various hurdles concerning environmental clearances and land acquisition, as well as low investment. This requires the import of high amounts of coal which itself requires the highest effectiveness and efficiency through well planned supply chains in order to avoid excessive costs. In order to maintain competitiveness berthing time must be minimised, demurrage charges must be avoided, larger vessels must be accommodated and all this requires the most efficient loading and/or unloading equipment.
Floating equipment
To date, only three private ports in India are able to handle Capesize vessels and these ports are highly frequented and overloaded, while smaller ports are unable to handle Panamax and/or Capesize vessels due to their draught limitations. At Kandla Port, in the Gujarat state in western India, they are now able to handle gearless Panamax and Capesize Vessels, up to 300m in length and 16m in draught, with the installation of the Liebherr Floating Cargo Crane (type CBG 350).
The floating crane carries out lightering operations offshore and subsequently the discharging operation is completed at the port. The CBG 350 is a dedicated heavy-duty high performance four-rope grab crane. Designed for high speed continuous operation, these CBG cranes incorporate specific features for heavy duty conditions and operations in open water, including a compact slewing column, specially designed heavy duty hoisting winches, heel trim alarm systems and emergency operation functions.
Safe and precise crane operation is further supported with Liebherr’s own Litronic crane control and management system. Litronic facilitates smooth and high-speed operations as well as preventive maintenance. Amongst other information the load indication and limitation, as well as the load recordings are displayed. The machine data is recorded, including alarms and failures, and service and inspection intervals can be determined. Optionally, modem access is available for remote fault-finding through skilled Liebherr engineers. The software is available in several languages.
With the design focus on maximum operating capacities and minimum maintenance and life-cycle costs the cranes are ideally suited to round-the-clock working cycles. With this combination port volumes are expected to surge. Through the offshore lightering possibility of larger sized vessels the floating cargo crane customers are able to overcome their draught limitations and so reduce their freight charges.
Fixed cargo cranes
A second success story hails from Dharamtar Port, located on the right-hand bank of the Amba River, about 14 nautical miles from India’s busiest container terminal – Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai.
Transport of containers to JNPT is very difficult due to the lack of infrastructure and can take up to 8 hours to travel 60km by road. This has caused heartache for many importers/exporters as their aim is to optimise the total logistic costs and to deliver the cargo as fast as possible but have to face the fact that both road and rail infrastructure in India is not adequate for hinterland transportation. As transportation by sea and inland water is faster, cheaper and safer Liebherr came up with a solution to reduce both transit times and logistical costs with the construction of a small jetty at Dharamtar Port.
The small jetty equipped with a Liebherr fixed cargo crane (type 230) dedicated for container handling enables the shipment of containers between Dharamtar and JNPT via inland waterways. The fixed cargo crane is based on a proven design for container handling. Additionally the fixed cargo crane (FCC crane) is economical both in acquisition and running costs and requires minimum space making it ideal for harbours with limited room for manoeuvres or where low ground pressures are essential.
The execution of the fixed cargo crane concept for on-shore operations handles more cargo efficiently and faster with less investment. Due to its slender design and suitability the crane does not require a complete jetty. Only a concrete foundation to mount the crane must be constructed, which saves on investment in terms of creating a superstructure. Thanks to jib lengths of up to 36m, this allows efficient unloading of vessels and barges from a fixed position.
The project was inaugurated with the first container shipment of 16 TEU via barge from Dharamtar Port to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) for CMA-CGM. Subsequently two more shipments were carried out for JNPT, which is located 3 hours away. This concept, which is very popular in other areas throughout the world, was introduced in India for the first time.
Benefits of a FCC
Liebherr offers various crane models in order to meet handling requirements for example their FCC 300 model offers a capacity of 30 tonnes at 28m reach, while the FCC 350 offers 35 tonne
s at 36m (or 45 tonnes at 32m) and a FCC 230 model which offers handling capacity of 32 tonnes at 26m. Considerable savings can be achieved as the construction of a complete jetty can be avoided. This results in a lower CAPEX requirement for both crane and superstructure as only a foundation must be constructed. Another benefit is the costs of the electro-hydraulic crane resulting in a lower OPEX while providing a higher handling capacity and long life span due to its robust and proven design.