Jerry Hopkinson, PD Ports Managing Director – Bulks and Port Services said, “Kalmar’s innovative technology, especially in the new cabin, was an important factor in our decision. At PD Ports, health and safety is our number one priority and these new machines will help us to further promote a safe working environment for our employees.” The deal also reflects the port’s focus on an ever improving service for customers, as well as increased throughput and enhanced efficiency.

PD Ports is an award-winning ports and logistics business that offers end-to-end supply chain solutions. Headquartered in northeast England, the company operates at several key UK ports and logistics centres, and has a growing European presence.

The fifth-generation Gloria (DRG450) reachstackers offer customers market-leading productivity and lifetime value. The product of decades of research and development, Gloria is now regarded as the industry’s most innovative and reliable reachstacker, with significantly lower maintenance requirements and downtime than competing machines.

For drivers, the Kalmar EGO cabin offers an all-new operating experience with a panoramic view, intuitive interfaces and ergonomically designed controls. With Gloria’s technology delivering an improved operator experience, safety standards have been considerably improved, including a reversing camera with integrated proximity sensors and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

Dredgers have completed a programme of capital dredging to deepen and widen the approach channel linking international shipping lanes to the Port.

The work ensures ships with a draught of up to 15.5m – the biggest container vessels currently in service – will be able to access the Port’s container terminal.

The dredging is the final piece of the project to enhance capability at the container terminal that is operated by DP World. The SCT 5 berth has a 500m long deep-water quay and is purpose built to cater for the largest ships in the world. As well as deep-water access, it is also equipped with the latest cranes, capable of reaching across vessels 24 containers wide.

The project benefits a wide range of commercial shipping, including those serving Marchwood Military Port and at Fawley Refinery.

More than five million cubic metres of material were removed. Where possible, alternative uses have been found for the dredged material, with some 20% being used in the construction of the new breakwater in Cowes Harbour or placed in an existing licensed aggregate site for future re-use.

As well as deepening the approach to the Port, dredging at Marchwood and near Fawley has improved navigational safety and the ability of vessels to pass in the channel.

Nick Ridehalgh, ABP Director, Southampton, said: “I am proud to say that the Port of Southampton remains able to handle any container vessel currently afloat and under construction.

“It is hugely important for our future that we are able to say this. As the trend in shipping is for ever larger vessels, it is vital if Southampton wants to remain at the forefront of the industry that the Port ensures its facilities adapt to handle them.

“The success of the Port is central to the economy of the city and the region, with the Port of Southampton supporting around 15,000 jobs and generating around £1 billion for the economy.”

SCT 5 was opened in March this year by Olympic gold medal winning yachtsman Sir Ben Ainslie and allows Southampton to offer deep-water berths that can handle the largest ships in the world. Last month the terminal operator DP World Southampton was named Global Port Operator of the Year in industry awards.

Chris Lewis, Managing Director, DP World Southampton, said: “The main channel dredging will enable container vessels to depart the terminal at 15.5m draught which is very important to our shipping line customers where Southampton is last port of call out of Europe. Our new SCT 5 berth, which is dredged to 16m can also be further deepened to 17m to meet future demand. This means that Southampton offers the complete package – a fast, efficient and reliable service as well as world class capabilities – now and well into the future.”

Beginning in late November, Charleston will be the final East Coast port of call for ships on North Atlantic Express service, or AX1.

“The AX1 will considerably expand SCPA’s connectivity with the Northern Europe trade,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome. “The G6 has three other services on this trade in Charleston, and we look forward to serving as the only Southeast port of call for the AX1.”

All vessels in the service are post-Panamax in size, with 8,800 TEU capacity. To accommodate for the additional call in Charleston, Hapag-Lloyd also announced plans to deploy another vessel, the MV “Osaka Express,” on the AX1.

The addition of the AX1 marks 11 weekly vessel calls in Charleston representing 8 North Europe services. Charleston has earned a dominant market position in the region’s North Europe trade, with a 64% share. Top commodities in this trade for SCPA include automotive and machinery, as well as export forest products.

Two Terex® rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) are now in operation at Durban Container Terminal, run by Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), a subsidiary of state-owned Transnet SOC Limited. The new Terex RMGs are each equipped with a rotating trolley and have a span of 22.5 m, a lifting height of 11 m and a lifting capacity of 41 t under spreader. Powered by the terminal’s electricity supply, they serve the rail terminal on pier 2 where they are replacing two 25-year-old cranes. By supplying these new cranes, TPS continues to expand its ongoing business relationship with TPT. In the past few years alone, Terex Port Solutions supplied 50 Terex® straddle carriers and 12 Terex® heavy-duty forklifts were supplied to the terminals in Durban, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay and Cape Town. TPS also recently commissioned the CommTrac bulk terminal operating system at the Port of Saldanha Bay in partnership with the Terex DBIS division.

Increased productivity and availability

With the two new cranes, TPT is going to increase both productivity and availability at the rail terminal. CEO Karl Socikwa notes: “The Terex RMG cranes will considerably boost our performance, creating a long-term competitive advantage for us and enable Durban Container Terminal to meet the demands of Transnet Freight Rail and all our valued customers”.
The TPT order with Terex Port Solutions is also setting an example in terms of order volume. Socikwa continues: “This is one of the largest single orders that we have ever placed with a supplier with manufacturing facilities in South Africa.” The order also includes a training course, conducted by the local TPS team, for crane operators and service technicians at the rail terminal.

Local manufacturing expertise, the crucial factor

The Terex Material Handling crane factory in Boksburg boasts extensive expertise in manufacturing large cranes. Having local expertise was a key factor in the award of the contract. As Colin Clegg, Business Development Manager Africa at TPS, explains: “As usual in South Africa, the public invitation to tender required a high proportion of local manufacturing. With the possibilities at the Terex factory in Boksburg, where we predominantly manufacture overhead travelling, portal and process cranes for the Terex Material Handling business group, TPS was able to meet this central criterion in every respect.”

Economic and space-saving stacking

TPS offers a broad range of manual and automated stacking cranes. Rail-mounted gantry cranes from TPS stand for economic and eco-friendly solutions for dense stacking and handling of containers in port, rail and intermodal terminals. The electrically driven cranes can be supplied with a rail span of up to 50 m and can handle 20′ to 45′ containers in single-lift or twin-lift operation with large area coverage. TPS offers the RMGs in several designs for various environments, including cantilever on one or both sides