Naviland announced the upgrade when more than 90 Alsace-based shippers and transport professionals attended a presentation in Strasbourg by promotional body Via Marseilles Fos (VMF) – formed by the port authority, port users and the chamber of commerce – which was hosting its first event in the key hinterland region.

With ten trains per week serving Strasbourg, transit times via Marseilles Fos are set to become particularly competitive for Asia trades, with 28 days quoted for imports from Shanghai.

China will feature when VMF resumes its programme of trade missions in the autumn, which will also include visits to India and Morocco.

Thanks to this new investment, Port of Drammen has doubled its container handling capacity. Additionally, the versatile LHM 550 is also capable of efficient bulk, general cargo and heavy lift operation. The crane provides a lifting capacity of 144 tonnes, which means over 40 tonnes more than the strongest of the existing machines in the port.

Liebherr Pactronic^® allows for eco-friendly performance boost

The new crane is equipped with Liebherr’s Pactronic^® hybrid drive system. Awarded with the State Prize Clean Technology Austria, this cutting-edge hydraulic hybrid drive for cranes is the first to achieve increased handling performance with reduced fuel consumption. By adding an accumulator as a secondary energy source instead of a bigger or additional prime mover, Pactronic^® is regenerating the reverse power while lowering te load. In addition, the surplus power of the primary energy source is also used for charging the accumulator. The stored energy is transferred back to the system when the crane requires peak power during hoisting. In terms of turnover capacity, that means a plus of 30% compared to a conventional machine with equal power rating of the primary energy source. In addition, Pactronic^® leads to a reduction of fuel/energy consumption (litre/ton) as well as CO2 and exhaust emissions in the range of 30% depending on the operation. The hybrid drive system is virtually maintenance free as it just needs visible inspection every 10 years. 100% recyclability as well as less noise exposure are additional eco-friendly benefits of the system.

Setting the course for future growth

Located southwest of the Norwegian capital Oslo, Port of Drammen required more capacity as it saw a 30% container volume increase between 2012 and 2013. In 2013, more than 30,000 containers were handled throughout the year. This investment in additional cargo handling capacity is important for the regional economy. Goods handled in the port include spares, furniture, electronics, wine and food.

 “We are experiencing a significant container traffic increase in Drammen. Due to the LHM 550 we have sufficient capacity to smoothly handle current container volumes. Moreover, we have capacity available for future growth,” says Einar Olsen, Port Director.

The new mobile harbour crane is also expected to attract new business, as Port of Drammen has expanded its heavy cargo portfolio to lifts of up to 144 tonnes. High lifting capacity is of special importance to the subsea industry and due to the new crane Port of Drammen has boosted its competitiveness in this regard.

Captions

Liebherr LHM 550 allows for highly efficient container handling in Port of Drammen.

With a focus on environmentally friendly dredging, they selected the 7012 HP with a supplementary IMS Environmental Plus cutter-head and an elongated turbidity shroud to be used when they dredge contaminated sediment.

In addition to their ROV services, seabed sampling, deep dredging in the North Sea and 3D multi-beam surveying, SeaBed Services has now expanded its operations to include dredging services for marinas and ports. SeaBed selected the 7012 HP due to the Starwheel Drive self-propulsion system. This allows them to operate in areas where cables are not practical because of boat traffic or narrow docks. The Versi-Dredge’s one truck transportability was also important as Norway is a mountainous country where roads tend to be narrow. Getting the dredge to the site on Tromøy Island for its first job was easier than expected in spite of a low overpass at the entrance to the marina and shallow water.

5,337 freight vehicles departed for Calais and Dunkirk in France from Europe’s busiest ferry port, beating the previous record of 5,322 set in 2008.

It was also the third busiest day ever for total numbers, with 10,134 freight vehicles handled. The busiest day was in 2008 when the port handled 10,584 freight vehicles following the Eurotunnel fire in September of that year.

Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover, says: “This shows just what reliance there is on the Port of Dover as a gateway for UK business. We have – and continue to develop – the infrastructure and facilities to provide the services which British exporters need. We have the essential levels of resilience for the nation when our major competitor gets into operational difficulties as it did this week.”

The total freight vehicle traffic handled by the port on Tuesday equates to a queue of freight traffic from the Port of Dover up the M20, over the Dartford crossing and up the M11 all the way to Stansted Airport!