08-Sep-2003

The Port of Felixstowe has announced that it intends to upgrade four of its ship-to-shore gantry cranes.

The Morris-built post-panamax cranes, which operate on Trinity Terminal at the Port, are around 18 years old, and were designed to deal with earlier container traffic and vessel requirements. Now, due to the increase in operational height of many modern container ships, the four cranes at the Port of Felixstowe need to have their height raised by three metres. This will involve a major jack-up operation to enable new leg sections to be fitted to each crane.
In addition to the height increase, each crane will have its elevator access altered; all travel motors rewired, all hoist ropes replaced and hoist motors removed for overhaul.

The contract to undertake the work has been awarded to Konecranes UK. It is expected that the upgrade of the first two cranes will be completed by the end of October 2003, with an overall completion for all four by the end of February 2004.

Richard Pearson, Managing Director of Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, owners of the Port of Felixstowe, commented:

“As the UK’s largest container port, it is essential that we invest constantly to stay ahead of developments in the shipping industry and to maximise our operational flexibility. The past few years have seen a major investment in the very latest equipment and infrastructure at the Port, and we have an ongoing commitment to providing the very best service we can to our customers.”

Work on the further expansion of the Port’s Trinity Terminal is currently underway. The expansion, which will creat an additional 270 metres of deep water quay, is due for completion in mid 2004.