The pontoon-feeder for the ferry aft ramps weighing 1,800 tons was floated into position and moored. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG: “The new RoRo device is another milestone in extending Kiel’s freight and logistic activities. From now on, cargo vessels can be loaded both via the ramp as well as by using two port cranes at Berth No. 1.”

The heart of the revamped RoRo facility is the buoyant pontoon of 1,800 tons, carrying the 32 m wide track – installed on a steel deck – for all kind of rolling cargo and serving as support surface for the aft ramps of the ferry vessels. A 23 m long and new bridge connects the pontoon with the quay wall in a flexible way so that loading and unloading the vessels is possible any time, no matter how the water levels might change. Dirk Claus: “The new bridge can bear an axle load of up to 100 tons so that our options for handling heavy special cargo as well as mass general cargo have been extended significantly.”

The new RoRo-bridge is part of a project of about 5.4 million Euro which is subsidized by the state of Schleswig-Holstein with funds from the German Federation. The project also comprises the – already completed – adaption of the water depth at Berth No. 1 to a constant 10 m as well as a stronger fender system along the quay wall. The investment into the freight and logistic capacities is complemented by a warehouse that was taken into operation at the beginning of this month as well as a gantry crane for the rail terminal in Ostuferhafen. Dirk Claus: “The increasing traffic from and to Russia as well as the Baltic States requires more and more powerful port facilities. Our Ostuferhafen is absolutely meeting this demand.”

On the occasion of installing the new RoRo facility today, Mr Ralph Müller-Beck, State Secretary at the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Economic Affairs, Employment, Transport and Technology, caught up on the current development in Ostuferhafen. On a round tour of the Ostuferhafen, the State Secretary was also shown the new Scanning Gate and the usage of Yard IT, which are both contributing to increasing the area productivity on a sustainable basis. Dirk Claus: “Next to all these optimization measures, the next key point is the extension of Ostuferhafen by an adjacent commercial park.” At the moment, the project approval procedure is underway in order to integrate the area of 4 hectares into the port premises next year.

SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG is a 100 % subsidiary of the State Capital of Kiel and operates the port by public order. The Ostuferhafen is the freight centre of the port where also the ferry connections to Eastern Europe are concentrated. Presently, Ostuferhafen offers seven departures a week to Klaipeda as well as two weekly departures to St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga. In addition, there is a regular service to Kaliningrad. Last year, more than 3 million tons of cargo were handled in Ostuferhafen for the very first time, so that the capacity limits of this harbor part are coming into view.

This measure is a continuation of the process started in July 2011, when Cargotec announced plans to establish a joint venture with its long-time partner in China, Jiangsu Rainbow Heavy Industries. The RCI joint venture is now fully operational and has shipped the first RTG cranes from its new state-of-the-art facility in Taicang, Jiangsu province. RCI employs approximately 280 people.

By taking measures to create a cost-efficient product and production set-up for the future, Kalmar also wants to ensure the long-term competitiveness of its RTG business globally.

The RTG production relocation is planned to be completed by the end of September 2013. Based on the current estimate, this would affect 105 positions in Cargotec Industries (China) Co., Ltd./MAU Shanghai.

Towards the end of 2014, TPS will deliver four Terex® STS cranes manufactured at its Xiamen, China, location to the Indonesian Meratus Line Group for its new container terminal business. The cranes will operate in Jakarta at Tanjung Priok Port, which will also be supplied with three electrically-fed rubber-tyred gantry cranes (E?RTGs). In addition to these machines, the order includes another three E?RTGs for a different terminal operated by the Meratus Line Group in the Port of Surabaya.

Destined for the country’s largest container port

The STS cranes are monobox constructions fitted with a self-propelled trolley. They have a lifting capacity of 45 t under the spreader and waterside outreach of 42 m. Meratus Line will operate its new container-handling cranes through its subsidiary, PT. Mitra Sentosa Abadi, which is responsible for terminal business in Tanjung Priok Port. Tanjung Priok is the largest container port in the country and has, in recent years, developed into a hub of both international and domestic cargo handling. Similar growth has occurred in Surabaya, where Meratus Line is to operate the terminal through its subsidiary, PT. Mitra Dharma Laksana.

 Long-term relationship planned

To meet the challenges of future growth in maritime trade as a terminal operator, Meratus Line Group chose TPS for its ability to provide holistic solutions, as the Managing Director Sjarif Hadiwidjaja, emphasizes: “The STS and gantry cranes made by Terex Port Solutions are ideal for us as we move into the terminal business because they combine high performance levels with economy, both in terms of procurement and operation.” Since the company anticipates rapid development in this field of business, he also considered TPS, a supplier of integrated systems, to be the ideal long-term, flexible supplier to equip their terminals: “Terex Port Solutions meets our needs both in terms of its products and its all-round service throughout the port – where the individual elements are compatible with each other and can be easily extended.”

Holistic range of products is a competitive advantage

Maurizio Altieri, Managing Director of Terex Port Solutions’ Xiamen location, is pleased that TPS has won a new customer in Meratus Line Group that intends to employ TPS’ products long-term: “Our holistic range of products and services is a competitive advantage which is particularly attractive to customers intending to launch or expand their terminal business systematically.” Maurizio Altieri continued by explaining that, in the eyes of its customers, TPS was a supplier that was capable of developing tailor-made solutions for customers: “We have intensified this partner-like approach by introducing a new sales and service organization this summer, to assign a “go-to expert” contact to each customer with a view to enabling rapid access to our whole range of services.”

“This is good news because it reopens an important market for companies that export hardwood logs to China via The Port of Virginia,” said Rodney W. Oliver, interim executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “A lot of work went into this effort on both the federal and state levels; we believe it will reenergize this piece of export business.”

The USDA – APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) and the Virginia Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services played critical roles in this effort, Oliver said.

Two years ago, all log shipments exported to China by way of The Port of Virginia and The Port of Charleston (SC) were banned by the Chinese government because of concerns over invasive pests. Following months of negotiations and extensive research, the Chinese began a year-long pilot program in June 2012 that allowed for the export of both hard and softwoods. The recently completed analysis of that pilot program reopens the export market for hardwood logs going to China.

Phytosanitary certificates issued by USDA-APHIS can be issued effective Sept. 15; APHIS recommends that the 24-hour duration fumigation schedule be maintained for hardwood species.