The service commenced with a call from the MSC Bruxelles, but from July 2011, the 9,200 TEU class vessels  will be replaced with MSC’s largest container vessels, commencing with the 14,000 TEU MSC Livorno. David Gledhill, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports UK Ltd, which owns the Port of Felixstowe commented: “The inclusion of the Port of Felixstowe on the Lion Service schedule is a great vote of confidence for the port and Felixstowe has a unique capability as the only UK port which can accommodate the next generation of container ships. With our new berths in their final phases of testing, and due to come online later this year, we will have additional capacity for these ultra-large ships.” He continued: “Combined with the port’s additional advantages including the UK’s busiest intermodal rail terminal, a range of coastal feeder services, a flexible workforce and a commitment to service delivery, Felixstowe can offer importers and exporters a choice of transport solutions that are unparalleled and will remain so in the future.” The port rotation for the Lion Service will be: Qingdao, Pusan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Chiwan, Sines, Le Havre, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Felixstowe, GioiaTauro, Singapore, Chiwan, and Hong Kong.

Three MacGregor GLE electric cranes will be installed on each ship: five ships will be equipped with a 60-tonne and two 80-tonne cranes, and the other two ships with a 60-tonne and two 100-tonne cranes. “We are seeing increasing interest in our electric cranes and deck machinery as more companies become aware of the economic, operational and environmental advantages they offer,” says Svante Lundberg, Sales Manager for cargo cranes at Cargotec.

The container cranes have a waterside outreach of 47.5m, span of 30.48m and landside backreach of 16m. Total lift height is 35m. The RTGs are of 16 wheel configuration, stack one over four containers high and span six containers plus a truck lane. These are the first Liebherr STS and RTG cranes to be supplied to the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait and are part of a large procurement contract for Kuwait Port Authority including port infrastructure and the purchase of secondary handling equipment. (Photo shows  similar Liebherr rtg cranes in operation)

The container cranes have a waterside outreach of 52.50m, span of 18m and landside backreach of 15.00m. Total lift height under spreader is 38m. S.W.L. is 65 Tonnes under Twin Lift Spreader and 75 Tonnes under hookbeam. Hoist Speed is 70–175m/min and trolley speed is 210m/min.  Crane travel speed is 45m/min. (Photo shows similar cranes in operation)