Monday, June 17, 2019

New Container Handling Equipment for Two of Britain's Major Ports

Finnish Straddle Carriers Purchased in Major Investment
Shipping News Feature
UK – Forth Ports, which operates eight ports round the UK, has continued investing in its network with a multimillion pound order for eleven new Kalmar straddle carriers to upgrade and expand its container handling abilities. London Container Terminal (LCT) took delivery of six of the new Finnish box movers this week and Grangemouth will receive five new machines in early 2020.

In London, three of the six new straddles are part of LCT’s equipment replacement programme, with the other three going into service to meet the increase in container business at the terminal. The current fleet at the terminal is now 36 straddles. London Container Terminal handles a diverse range of conventional and reefer containers with cargoes ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables to bricks and steel.

In Grangemouth the purchase of the five new straddles is part of a major investment programme at Scotland’s container terminal to increase its capacity for storing both conventional containers and reefers. The new straddle carriers will replace five of the existing fleet of 16 and commence the transition to four high straddles from the current three high straddles.

The port also welcomed a new Liebherr ship to shore container crane last year which is already delivering faster turnaround times. Grangemouth handles some of Scotland’s most valuable exports, such as fine foods and drinks, with more than £6 billion worth of goods passing through the port each year including steel plate, timber, paper and equipment for the oil and gas industry. Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports said:

“We are investing across the group and with these 11 new Kalmar straddles for our busy container terminals in London and Grangemouth, we secure their position as key shipping and distribution locations offering some of the most efficient landside operations in the industry.

”At LCT we have the capacity to handle in excess of half a million containers each year and it is the only UK port truly servicing both deep sea and short sea customers. Customers of LCT also benefit from access to Europe’s largest portside chill store sitting on the doorstep of the largest consumption market in the UK.

”Grangemouth is Scotland’s largest container terminal and handles some of the country’s most important exports including food and drink to Europe and beyond. These new straddles build on the significant investment we have made in Grangemouth over the past 5 years to ensure an efficient service for our customers.”

Photo: The MV Symphony Space docks at Tilbury with the six new straddle carriers aboard.