“This project is an excellent reference for Cavotec as a whole and for Cavotec Netherlands in particular. In a country with a long history of maritime innovation, we have the opportunity to demonstrate how MoorMaster makes mooring ships safer, more economical and more environmentally friendly,” explains Cavotec Netherlands Managing Director, Sietse Nap.

Under the terms of the order, Cavotec will manufacture two MoorMaster MM400 units for installation at the passenger ferry berth at Port Den Helder in the northwest of the Netherlands. Cavotec engineers will also work closely with TESO personnel with on-site commissioning and testing.

With the introduction of MoorMaster, TESO expects to make substantial reductions in emissions and to drive down fuel costs.

“We have a strong focus on the environment, and MoorMaster will make our operations more sustainable by improving air quality in and around the port – this is very important to us. We also anticipate making significant savings on fuel,” says Cees de Waal, Director of TESO.

The units will enable ships’ engines to idle for seven minutes during each 10-minute boarding process, rather than using engines to hold vessels in position. With some 6,000 port calls made annually, the potential for air quality improvement and cost savings is considerable.

The units will be used to moor TESO’s two ferries, the Dokter Wagemaker and a new-build ferry due to enter service in 2015. The Dokter Wagemaker serves the Den Helder-Texel Island route with some 16 crossings a day. With a length of 130m and gross tonnage of 13,256 tonnes, the Dokter Wagemaker can hold up to around 300 cars and 1,750 passengers.

Rijkswaterstaat, part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, and operator of the ferry harbour at Den Helder, is pleased with the introduction of innovative and environmentally friendly technology and will support TESO with the integration of the units on the berth. Delivery of the MoorMaster units is scheduled for the last quarter of 2013, with testing due to start in the first quarter of 2014.

This is the third MoorMaster application in Europe. The two existing applications are at the ports of Hov and Saelvig in Denmark, where a total of four units are used to moor a vessel on a high-frequency ferry service. These systems carry out 14 moorings daily, and have been in service since 2009.

The port which has applied for a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development intends to use its proceeds to contribute towards the financing of the project, which has a total estimated cost of Euro 23.4 million.

The tender will require the procurement of the following works and services:
· Civil works related to the extension of the passenger wharves; and
· Consultancy services for works supervision.

Tendering for the above contracts is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.

… the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a loan of up to USD12 million. The loan will part finance 100m of mixed-gauge rail on the territory of the port which connect the Romanian and Moldovan railways where Romania, as the rest of the EU, uses narrow gauge and Moldova as well as the neighbouring Ukraine and other CIS countries uses broad gauge.

First of all, it will enable the trains to enter the port and, secondly, it will help avoid long hours of lifting each carriage to have its bogies changed.

The EBRD’s investment will be also used for balance sheet restructuring through the refinancing of the short-term debt with long-term loans.

With the help of the EBRD’s loan the port will become a multi-purpose logistics hub at the crossings of maritime trade routes between Eastern Europe and the EU, with due access to road, rail (broad and narrow gauges), the Danube River and the Black Sea.

Giurgiulesti International Free Port is located near the village of Giurgiule?ti, the southernmost point of Moldova, on the border with the EU and 10km away from the Romanian city of Gala?i, the largest port town on the Danube River. The project will contribute to an increased competition for Moldovan cargo traffic with the regional ports, including Gala?i in Romania and Odessa in Ukraine.

…at Klaipeda Port, through its locally based operating subsidiary LK AB Klaipedos Smelte.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering supporting Terminal Investment Limited with a Euro 32.5 million loan for the expansion of the terminal.

The Euro 65 million brown-field expansion project will provide additional gateway capacity for Lithuania and transit markets and will transform the terminal into a trans-shipment hub for MSC in the Baltic region.

This infrastructure project will increase container handling capacity in the region, and introduce new products and services contributing to a more competitive environment in the sector and eventually to a higher economic growth. The economies of scale of deep-sea services linked to intermodal operations to be offered by company are expected to further increase transit and trans-shipment container volumes in Lithuania and neighbouring markets and simultaneously reduce costs of transportation to major markets serviced by Baltic ports.