Twelve of the straddle carriers will be delivered to Patrick’s East Swanson Dock in Melbourne between July and December 2012 and a further ten to Patrick’s Port Botany Terminal in Sydney between May and September 2012. Patrick and Cargotec have decided not to disclose the value of the order.

Cargotec’s Australian team will provide maintenance support to the equipment with spare parts supplied direct from its regional parts warehouse in Melbourne.

This latest order of 50-tonne capacity ESC 350W straddle carrier models continues a longstanding partnership between the two companies. Cargotec’s team in Australia has provided over 120 Kalmar straddle carriers to Patrick container terminals over a period of 28 years. In total there are currently 108 units in operation across Patrick’s sites in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne which combine to handle approximately 3.5 million TEUs per year.

Systems based on Kalmar straddle carriers such as the ESC 350W represent the fastest options for medium-size terminals handling between 100,000 and 4,000,000 TEU. Kalmar straddle carrier’s 7+ generation models combine high performance and productivity with low maintenance and operating costs. Designed with operators in mind, they deliver strong environmental benefits which can be further enhanced with hybrid operation and can provide users with industry leading automation options – as demonstrated at Patrick’s state of the art Brisbane terminal where 27 fully automated Kalmar EDRIVE straddle carrier variants operate.

At the ceremony, YICT signed an agreement with Beijing Xingkai Yuan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd for use of the new solar panels. These solar panels are lighter in weight and more flexible than traditional panels. Using the latest technology, they also have a 20 per cent higher energy conversion efficiency. YICT is the first port operator in mainland China to install these latest generation solar panels and plans to install more over the course of the year. By the end of this year, YICT plans to install solar panels on the rooftops of its terminal buildings covering 60,000 square metres.

The ceremony also featured the signing of an agreement between YICT and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China. Under the agreement, CNOOC will supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to the terminal for its fleet of more than 200 LNG-powered tractors.

YICT has launched a number of green initiatives over the past few years, including the use of electric and hybrid rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGC) in order to reduce its carbon footprint.

HAI Chi Yuet, Managing Director of YICT, noted that YICT is committed to green development by taking a proactive approach to reducing exhaust emissions and energy consumption. YICT also protects the marine environment in which it operates.

XIE Man Ying, Deputy Director General of Department of Water Transport, Ministry of Transport of China, together with other relevant government officials, and visitors from shipping lines and the Port of Hamburg, attended the ceremony.

Photo Caption

Xie Man Ying (fifth from right), Deputy Director General of Department of Water Transport, Ministry of Transport of China and Hai Chi Yuet (fourth from left), Managing Director of YICT, at the kick-off ceremony of YICT’s 2012 Environment Week

Jost de Jager said “the extension of Norwegenkai means that the potential of the state capital’s port has been increased yet again. Urgently needed new interim stowage space is now immediately available to accommodate rising cargo traffic to and from Norway. The extension also opens up new opportunities to attract further service business”. The Norwegenkai expansion covers an area of 9,250 m², which serves as interim stowage, parking and transport space for trucks and trailers as well as containers. Dirk Claus said “the north eastern expansion meets the demands of our customers for more space and means we can further optimise cargo unit interim stowage operations”

The SEEHAFEN Kiel acquired the industrial site adjacent to the north eastern part of Norwegenkai in 2008 and took it over at the end of 2009. Work began in Spring 2011 on integrating the site into Norwegenkai and involved the demolition of old buildings, site infilling and securing as well as the fencing and illumination of the area according to ISPS regulations. Dirk Claus said “the acquisition and integration of the adjacent property was a unique opportunity to expand the Norwegenkai site in order to secure potential for an extension of cargo volumes to and from Norway”. The north eastern expansion involved an investment of about EUR 1.2 million, which does not include land purchase costs. Jost de Jager said “I’m happy that the state was able to be involved in this project within the framework of its Business Development Programme. We want to continue our successful promotional policies in the future, particularly in the port infrastructure sector”.

The SEEHAFEN KIEL operates Kiel’s commercial port on behalf of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital, of which it is a 100% subsidiary. Kiel boasts three terminals for ferry and cruise ships – all of them in inner-city locations. The ferry ships of Color Line – “Color Fantasy” and “Color Magic” – operate out of the Norwegenkai Terminal and link Kiel daily with the Norwegian capital Oslo. Last year about 1.1 million passengers and 800,000 tons of cargo were handled at Norwegenkai. In addition to passengers and their cars, 35,000 trucks as well as trailers and several thousand import/export vehicles were also loaded or unloaded at the terminal. The facility also boasts a direct rail link for cargo and has a second fully equipped ship berth available with an hydraulic RoRo ramp, suitable for handling cargo ferries of up to 200 m in length.  “The extension of operational space at Norwegenkai means that port-side conditions have now been created for the handling of an additional cargo ferry”, said Dirk Claus.

The MATHILDE MAERSK berthed at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH) as the first vessel on this liner service to call in Hamburg on 24 March 2012.

Built in 2009, the MATHILDE MAERSK with her length of 367 metres and breadth of 43 metres, and slot capacity of around 9,700 TEU (20-ft standard containers) belongs to the generation of VLCS (Very Large Container Ships). Fully loaded, the vessel’s draught reaches 15 metres. The AE-6 Asia-Europe Service is operated in combination with the TP-6 Transpacific Service, with a total of 14 vessels with slot capacities of between 9,500 and 9,700 TEU.

From Hamburg the route for the voyage is initially towards Asia, then onwards to the US West Coast. In the rotation from Hamburg, calls are made at the following ports: Felixstowe, Le Havre, Suez Canal, Salalah, Tanjung Pelepas, Vung Tau, Nansha, Yantian, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Bremerhaven, and back to Hamburg.

Last year the Port of Hamburg’s total container throughput on the two trade routes East Asia and North America was able to achieve disproportionately strong growth. The services between Hamburg and the United States of America reported the steepest increase with 81.6 percent to 297,000 TEU assuring the USA of an advance from twelfth into sixth place among the Port of Hamburg’s leading foreign trade partners. Asia, with total transport volume of 5.2 million TEU (up by 8.8 percent), once again retained top position among trade routes served by the Port of Hamburg in 2011.