The Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), Dr Dirk Claus, said: “This is a further important step in  the development of the Ostuferhafen. Because of our currently very good work load, this expansion of the port is taking place at just the right time”. The extension of warehousing capacity is of particular significance given that demand for it is rising continuously. “This year alone”, commented Dirk Claus, “we are taking an additional 50,000 m² of warehousing space into operation. Our overall capacity will more than double as a result”.

In the newly acquired warehouse, grain will continue to be stored for the time being along with pellets and, later, sawn timber. Dirk Claus said: “This additional warehouse capacity strengthens our liner shipping services to and from eastern Europe and sends a strong signal to our timber customers.” The Ostuferhafen was built in the mid 1980s on the site of a former shipyard and has been transformed to date in five development phases into a freight and logistics hub for the commercial Port of Kiel. At that time the adjacent property with its flat-roofed storage hall was first sold by the City of Kiel and not transferred into the ownership of the Port of Kiel. “I am very happy that the SEEHAFEN KIEL has now had the chance to acquire this site, which is so important for the further development of the port”, said Dirk Claus. With this most recent site extension, Kiel is underscoring the universal character of its port in order to offer all its customers possibilities for expanding business.

Liner shipping services to and from Russia and the Baltic region are located in the Ostuferhafen. The RoPax ferries of DFDS Seaways link Kiel daily with Klaipeda in Lithuania. In addition, RoRo services with Russia call at St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga. As part of its new paper product business the port will in future also be served two to three times a week by SCA RoRo ships from Sundsvall in northern Sweden or, via the Kiel Canal, from the Benelux countries and England. In addition bulk cargo like grain or coal and containers are handled, along with heavy cargo and project loads. Last year more than 2.6 million tons of cargo were loaded or unloaded in the Ostuferhafen.

Rail Freight Services, based in Harlow, Essex, has allocated the SRSC 4531 reachstacker to a new contract in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The Abingdon site is a rail head that receives trains from a power station in Yorkshire with containers laden with pulverised fuel ash (PFA). This cargo is then transferred locally and reprocessed into building materials.

A Sany reach stacker is already hard at work with Rail Freight Services. Cooper supplied the first machine to a similarly intense operation in South Wales.

Kevin Biddle, Operations Manager at Rail Freight Services, said: “Given our experience of both the Sany machine and the service Cooper provides, it was simply a natural choice for us to repeat a winning formula in Abingdon.”

The reach stacker has been supplied with full maintenance support, which will be carried out by Cooper Handling’s own highly experienced and ISO-accredited engineering team.

Chris Barnes, General Manager of Cooper Handling, commented “With the first Sany reach stacker being so well-received by Rail Freight Services, we are naturally delighted to be rewarded with our first repeat contract for this impressive machine.”

The SRSC 4531 reachstacker is manufactured in Sany’s new factory in northern Germany and most parts are sourced locally. Sany is understood to be one of only a handful of reach stacker manufacturers to fabricate its own chassis and booms. This is a key advantage, in that it enables Sany to maintain engineering quality ‘in-house’.

APM Terminals Pipavav, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, commenced export Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) services in August 2015, after NYK Auto Logistics India (NALI) invested in a state-of-the art stock yard and pre delivery inspection facility.

The new cars destined for Western India dealerships originated at Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) automotive manufacturing facility near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu State. HMIL, the Indian subsidiary of Korean-based Hyundai Motor Company, is India’s second-largest car manufacturer, and for the past ten years, India’s largest passenger car exporter.

Link Shipping and Management Systems Pvt. Ltd. is pioneering this venture which demonstrates the value, automotive manufacturers can derive from this safe, efficient and more sustainable, environmentally-friendly mode of transportation going forward.

“We are proud to be a part of this historic and innovative intra-costal shipment of Indian automobiles, serving India’s growing automotive industry with safe, and environmentally sustainable logistics alternatives,” said APM Terminals Pipavav, Managing Director, Keld Pedersen.

The Indian Ministry of Shipping’s decision to relax cabotage regulations on special vessels enabled this first domestic consignment. Modal shift incentives currently under evaluation by the Government of India will further encourage shifting of domestic cargo from road to sea. Coastal shipping is an environmentally- friendly alternative to overland transportation by truck, reducing diesel fuel consumption and emissions, as well as Indian roadway congestion.

India has been projected by auto industry analysts to overtake Japan as the world’s foremost producer of “Entry Level” automobiles within five years, growing its market share from 20% in 2015 to 28% by 2021, as India’s consumer class, along with other emerging market populations targeted by Indian automotive manufacturers, continues to expand. India, with a population of 1.2 billion, is forecast to reach a record 2.2 million new car sales in 2016.