During the tour she was shown the port’s new Berths 8&9 where she took the controls of one of the port’s gigantic gantry cranes under the supervision of a qualified crane-driving instructor and visited the site of the new rail terminal to be built in 2012.

The port already has the country’s busiest intermodal rail freight operation, and the new terminal will be the first in the UK to be designed to handle longer, 30-wagon, freight trains. The longer trains will allow more containers to be moved on the same infrastructure and provide greater carbon savings.

The two new ship-to-shore gantry cranes and ten rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) arrived at the port onboard a special heavy-lift vessel from the Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) of Shanghai.

The cranes will be used on the port’s new Berths 8&9. The new ship-to-shore cranes are the biggest of their type in the world, capable of handling container ships with 24 containers wide on deck.

Commenting on the Secretary of State’s visit and the arrival of the cranes, Clemence Cheng, Managing Director of Hutchison Port Holdings Central Europe division, said:

“We are honoured that the Secretary of State has chosen Felixstowe for her first visit to a major port. The Port of Felixstowe is uniquely located to serve the UK’s deep-sea container trade and these new cranes further enhance its unique capability to do so. No other port offers the same combination of marine access, proximity to the major shipping routes, and ease of access to the whole national hinterland as Felixstowe.

“The range and frequency of services calling at the port, together with an unrivalled choice of feeder services and inland rail destinations, make it the right economic choice and the best environmental solution for UK importers and exporters.”

Justine Greening said:

“Felixstowe has a key role to play in the life of the UK, both as a major local employer and as a gateway for over 40% of goods entering and leaving the country.  This is one of the reasons our recent spending review included improvements to the A14 – one of the country’s major freight arteries, and why I was delighted to see for myself the excellent work being done at the port to accommodate some of the world’s biggest container ships.”

With the new arrivals, there will be seven ship-to-shore cranes on Berths 8&9 and 37 in total across the port. Each of the new cranes weighs approximately 2,000 tonnes and is capable of lifting 2 containers simultaneously up to a total of 70 tonnes.

The cranes will undergo a commissioning process before entering service in the new year. The commissioning will include final installation of local operational and communications systems, as well as checking the full functionality of all the cranes operating systems.

The cranes are fitted with a number of automated driver aids that have been proven to improve the speed of handling. The Automatic Skew Control corrects any skew movement of the spreader caused by wind, vessel cell guides, or load imbalance, and a semi-automatic positioning system allows the crane operator to pre-select a ship discharge or loading operation from which the system will automatically calculate and position the crane with an optimised path and with anti-sway control.

Tibbett Logistics is part of the fast-growing UK-based Keswick Enterprises group.

The opening ceremony at Europolis Park was attended by some 200 guests from multinational manufacturers, retailers, forwarders and shippers, along with other local dignitaries.

His Excellency Ambassador Harris emphasised in his speech the environmental benefits of the new terminal – pointing out in particular that analysts predict savings of 16.6 million tonnes of CO2 a year as a result of fewer truck movements in and around Bucharest because of the terminal development alone.

He commented: “When I arrived in Romania in 2010 one of my first trips was to Constanta, which is one of the largest ports in Europe. I found it extraordinary that many companies in Romania preferred to be supplied from Rotterdam, two thousand kilometres away by truck. One year later, that is changing. The upgrade to the railway line, and the new intermodal terminal in Bucharest, make Constanta an increasingly attractive option.”

In his speech, Ambroziu Duma, representing the Port of Constanta Administration, also outlined the importance of hinterland transportation solutions for the successful development of goods traffic through Constanta, emphasising the large volume of goods that are still being transported by road to Romania via the northern European ports – at significant unnecessary cost to both consumers and the environment.

To mark the official opening, the first fully loaded train entered the terminal to the accompaniment of fireworks and rousing music (Mr Blue Sky by ELO).  This coincided with the cessation of the rain that had been falling continuously for the previous 12 hours!

The first stage of Tibbett Logistics’ second intermodal terminal in Bucharest commences operations with 12,000 sq metres of platform and 2.5 km of rail track, plus an accompanying 6,500 sq metre rail-connected warehouse in the middle of the site.  This platform provides an immediate capacity of approximately 1,200 TEU – a figure that is set to double by the fourth quarter of 2012 with the scheduled completion of the second development phase.

As well as block trains operated by Tibbett Logistics itself between Constanta and Bucharest, the terminal is open to all end-users and operators, and will handle trains to/from the EU, Turkey and western Romania.  Early 2012 will see the arrival of the first trains with car-transporter wagons.

CEO, David Goldsborough, said: “This is a proud moment for both Tibbett Logistics and Keswick Enterprises – and it is gratifying to see so many visitors and such interest from the industry.  With the price of diesel in Romania rising 55% since January 2009, rail-based transport operations have become not only environmentally friendly, but also financially vital.

“The success of any intermodal terminal development rests not only on its facilities, but also on its location.  This is where we really score – as freight trains are now able to travel from the port of Constanta almost to the door of the major retailers and manufacturers in Bucharest.  At this site we are within a few kilometres of all the city’s main industrial and logistics parks – from which the major part of the logistics needs of the nation are served.”

Tibbett Logistics is Romania’s largest privately owned contract logistics specialist.  In addition to its intermodal activities it offers comprehensive services to the automotive, textiles, retail and other FMCG sectors throughout Romania and beyond – operating approximately 100,000 square metres of warehousing plus a distribution fleet comprising tilt trailers, double- and triple-chamber reefers and container chassis, along with its own intermodal rail wagons.

Brookfield Infrastructure Group has been active in the ports sector since 2006 and has acquired a significant portfolio of high-quality assets in Europe and Australia. The company plans to expand its ports business in the Americas.

Prior to joining Brookfield Infrastructure Group, Tilden served in executive positions with Ports America through April 2009, following its acquisition of Marine Terminals Corp. in 2007. In addition, Tilden spent 19 years with United States Lines in various executive positions.

Brookfield Infrastructure Group is a unit of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management (Brookfield). Brookfield manages more than $150 billion of assets globally, including $30 billion in infrastructure. The company has been in operation for more than 100 years and has a global reach, with a particular focus on Latin America. Brookfield’s port operations move in excess of 200 million tons of cargo per year.

Tilden commented on his new role.

“These are difficult times for ocean carriers and the vendors that serve them,” Tilden said. “But in these times, we believe there is an opportunity to rationalize terminal assets for the benefit of the carriers, their customers and the ports. I have known Brookfield for many years and have been impressed with its patient, long-term approach to investing. Its strategy is to build platforms within industries by acquisition, development and improvement of operating performance. Brookfield’s long-term investment philosophy is a good fit with the industries in which it has chosen to invest.”

The transaction is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities. The Tenova Mining division now covers most of the mining industry value chain presenting itself to customers as an all-round supplier with innovative technological products and full process and commodity knowledge. Bateman Engineering (which includes Delkor group) joins Tenova TAKRAF and Tenova Pyromet, to form a group of Excellence in mining sector, with more than 1.1 billion dollars revenues and more than 2,400 people operating in 16 countries on 5 continents. “With this acquisition Tenova further broadens its portfolio of products in a market expected to grow constantly in the long term”, declared Gianluigi Nova, CEO of Tenova. “The Bateman acquisition will also strengthen Tenova’s global network of well rooted companies present in key markets and integrated in a flexible, customer-oriented organization.”