“Our continued infrastructure investments enable us to work larger vessels and provide faster service to our customers,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “With this latest update to our crane fleet, the Port of Savannah will add capacity and opportunity for future growth.” This latest order of new cranes is scheduled to arrive in February 2016, and will give GPA a total of 20 Super Post-Panamax cranes and nine Post-Panamax cranes, more than any other single, self-funded terminal in the U.S. The action today comes on the heels of eight additional ship-to-shore cranes purchased between 2009 and 2013. Designed by Konecranes of Finland and assembled in Nantong, China, these enormous cranes can reach across vessels 22 containers wide to a height of 136 feet above the dock. The cranes operate over 9,700 feet of contiguous berth space. The RTGs, which are employed to handle cargo in the container field, will arrive in periodic shipments over the next two years. All 20 cranes will have the capacity to convert to electric power as the GPA continues its effort to transition away from diesel fuel. The 20-crane purchase will bring the Port of Savannah’s RTG fleet to 136. “An unparalleled fleet of 29 ship-to-shore cranes, when combined with the pending harbor deepening, on-terminal rail and direct access to Interstate 95 mean the Port of Savannah is truly the best option for conducting global trade with the Southeastern U.S.,” said GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson. Also on Monday, Foltz reported to the board a record month in April for GPA’s automobile and machinery terminals. The Ports of Brunswick and Savannah moved 67,963 auto and machinery units in April – up 17.8 percent compared to figures from last year. Total roll-on/roll-off units moved for the first 10 months of the fiscal year (July-April) across GPA docks reached 571,054, also a new record. “Our dramatic growth in Ro/Ro volume shows the market has discovered the competitive advantages of our dedicated autoport in Brunswick,” Foltz said. “Interstate access, on-terminal rail, ample space and four on-site auto processors make Brunswick the Southeast’s must-call port for automakers.” Compared to April 2013, breakbulk cargo saw the largest jump of any single GPA business sector during the month – improving by 26.4 percent, or 48,597 tons, to reach 232,834 tons in April. More generally, Georgia’s ports continued a steady growth trend in April. GPA terminals improved total tonnage by 4.6 percent, or 111,386 tons, compared to a year ago, reaching 2.52 million tons of cargo moved during the month. Twenty-foot equivalent container units were also up, with GPA moving 266,930 TEUs during April, an increase of nearly 8,000 units, or 3.1 percent, for the month. This puts the Port of Savannah on track to achieve a 3-million TEU fiscal year. Savannah’s Garden City Terminal moved 3.03 million TEUs in calendar year 2013. “Our performance in April and for the fiscal year to date is an outgrowth of our success in winning new customers and improving services for existing port users,” Jepson said. “Consistent investments in improved infrastructure have led to GPA’s ability to deliver cargo to market faster than ever before.”
MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured a contract for linkspans for Port of Stockholm
The linkspans have been ordered as part of a port development project to extend the capabilities of Stockholm’s largest harbour, Värtahamnen and Kapellskär harbour.
Five linkspan units will be installed in Värtahamen and two in Kapellskär. The contract contains a number of options for further units intended for other sites within the port.
“The design of the linkspans is based on, and developed from, the best characteristics of a series of successful deliveries,” says Clas Hedelin, Sales Manager, Port Solutions, RoRo Systems. “These include linkspans for the Norwegian ports of Langesund, Risavika, Kristiansand, Langesund and Larvik, as well as the Moroccan port of Tangier.”
Deliveries will take place in 2015 and 2016 and all the steel structures will be CE-marked in accordance with the latest regulations.
By the end of June 2014, any steel structure delivery in the European Union and the European Economic Area must have a CE mark to signify production to a consistently high standard. In March this year, MacGregor attained authorisation to CE mark its steel structures according to the fabrication quality standard, EN1090-1 – the certification required by all companies that supply fabricated steel structures. In April MacGregor delivered its first unit with the new CE mark, a water taxi terminal for the Port of Lysekil in Sweden.
Rapiscan Sysyems unveils new driverless Eagle® cargo inspection solution
Building on the success of the Rapiscan Eagle® Mobile series, the new Driverless Eagle® M60 is a fully-automated vehicle screening system which can operate without the need of a driver.
As with the original Eagle® M60, the Rapiscan’s driverless model utilizes the world’s most powerful mobile X-ray imaging technology (see notes to editor) and has been specifically designed to assist customs and border personnel in their detection of nuclear materials, explosives, weapons and contraband such as tobacco, alcohol and currency in trucks, cargo and containers.
Rapiscan’s revolutionary, driverless system requires no driver to be present during scanning – a technical innovation that offers a raft of financial and operational benefits to customs and border control staff.
These benefits include eradicating driver fatigue and driver work-shift changes; improving inspection rates and vehicle throughput; and removing risks associated with lone workers, health & safety incidents and potential human error.
It can be driven on the road like a standard vehicle, allowing the unit to move between locations quickly and easily as required.
Such flexibility is also embedded in the Driverless Eagle® M60’s operational processes.
Once moved into position via a remote steering system, the M60 automatically detects two positional sensors – one placed at either end of the scan location. The positional sensors can be placed as far as 35 meters apart, allowing for oversized cargo or multiple units to be scanned in one pass.
As the scanning commences, additional sensors on the M60 make minor adjustments to the direction and position of the vehicle which ensures it consistently drives in a straight line between the two positional sensors. The system is so accurate it is designed not to deviate by more than 25mm from the center line.
The automated scan process is then monitored by a system operator who is housed in the M60’s onboard inspector’s office. This operator views the high resolution X-ray images produced by the system in real time (see image attached).
Ajay Mehra, President, Rapiscan Systems, said:
“Rapiscan strives to provide products and services which meet and exceed customer requirements. It was the need for a high-quality, flexible mobile scanner solution which drove us to design the original Eagle® M60 that is today deployed all over the world. The Driverless Eagle® M60 builds on this success, and directly addresses a number of resourcing and financial challenges faced by customs and other border security agencies.
“These include the cost and time implications of employing qualified drivers, 24/7 to maintain the inspection throughput required at ports, borders and checkpoints. It also limits the risk of human driver error or mishap during the critical scanning process.
“This new technology is another example of Rapiscan’s technical leadership and it reflects our commitment to address the evermore complex and challenging issues of smuggling, terrorism and contraband in the 21st century.”
A short film demonstrating the Driverless Eagle® M60 in action can be seen here.
New shipping services announced as the second berth at DP World London Gateway opens for business
The G6, one of the world’s largest shipping alliances, will start a new service at DP World London Gateway on Friday 16 May. The arrival of APL’s ‘Margrit Rickmers’ will signal the start-up of the PA2 (Pacific Atlantic) service, which will be a further boost to the growing geographic spread of shipping services on offer at DP World London Gateway port and logistics park. The New World Alliance (APL, HMM, and MOL), which previously operated a similar service to the PA2 previously called at Felixstowe port, however, through the G6 Alliance (APL, HMM, MOL, Hapag Lloyd, NYK, & OOCL) the service will now call at DP World London Gateway.
Peter Ward, commercial director, DP World London Gateway, said, “We are very pleased to be welcoming the G6 to DP World London Gateway. It’s another milestone for the team. We are focused on delivering the best possible service for cargo owners and shippers and our connections are growing fast”.
Hamburg Sud and Hapag Lloyd services to South America and the Middle East have recently started.
On Friday 2 May, DP World London Gateway received the ‘Santa Rosa’ starting the SAEC1 Service (South America East Coast). On Monday 5 May, the Hapag Lloyd ‘Dublin Express’ called at DP World London Gateway, which started the SAWC1 service (South America West Coast). On Tuesday 6 May the Hapag Lloyd ‘Tabea’ called, starting up the EPIC service (Europe Pakistan India Consortium and also known as Hapag Lloyd Indian Ocean Service).
DP World London Gateway has signed a deal with X-Press Feeders Ltd, which is a weekly service linking London Gateway directly with Dublin and Rotterdam. The first call was on Sunday 11 May and will be calling weekly. Tabare Dominguez, port commercial manager, DP World London Gateway, said: “It’s an important step forward to continue increasing the geographical coverage of London Gateway, in this case to connect DP World London Gateway directly with the Irish market.”
X-Press Feeders is one of the largest independent feeder carriers in the world.
New services connecting DP World London Gateway to inland rail destinations were also recently announced. Freightliner and DB Schenker are now providing daily services to more inland rail destinations.
DB Schenker is serving Manchester, Daventry, Wakefield and South Wales from London Gateway.
Freightliner is now serving Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds & Glasgow.
Maritime Transport, the country’s largest privately owned container transport operator, has announced a deal to set up a depot at London Gateway. Maritime will take on a site that gives plenty of room for expansion as it serves the growing needs of its customers at the UK’s new deep-water port.
Pentalver, a leading inland container service operator, recently opened a new container facility at DP World London Gateway. Empty storage, dry repair and reefer services are provided at the new facility.