Original news was published on 22 August, 2017
ZPMC will supply four huge STS cranes for the expansion of the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal.
The Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners has approved the port spending US$44.8M on four new STS cranes, parts, and delivery to Virginia from China and installation at VIG. The cranes are part of the US$320M expansion of Virginia International Gateway (VIG), and will be supplied by ZPMC.
“The largest of their kind in the United States, these four cranes will be able to handle the Ultra Large Container Vessels, or ULCVs, that are currently calling the port, as well as the even higher-volume ships of the future,” the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) said in a statement.
Virginia had 22-row outreach cranes years before any shipping line was interested in deploying a post-Panamax (pre Panama Canal extension) vessel to the US east coast, and the port continues to focus on trying to stay ahead of the shipping industry when it comes to crane size.
Its new ZPMC units will have an outreach of 69m from the waterside rail and a lift height above rail of 52m, while keeping with the existing 100ft rail gauge. Lifting capacity is 65 long tons under a twin-20-foot spreader or 100 long tons under cargo hook. Total crane weight is 1,827 tons.
“These cranes are the biggest of the big – the largest ZPMC has ever delivered to the U.S.” said Virginia Port Authority (VPA) Board Chairman John G. Milliken. “What is unique about these cranes is their outreach, they will be able to reach across a vessel that is 26 containers wide, which is three-to-four containers wider than most cranes. We anticipated needing this capacity (of the cranes) for the ships that will be coming to Virginia 10 years from now. When that day comes The Port of Virginia will be ready.”
The contract also includes the purchase of several “specialised cargo handling components for the cranes” and an option on two additional ship-to-shore cranes for use at Virginia’s other container facility, Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).
“Once the new cranes are delivered, The Port of Virginia will have 30 ship-to-shore cranes at work in the Norfolk Harbor and the ability to service the biggest container ships sailing the Atlantic Ocean: VIG will have 12 cranes; NIT has 14; and Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) has six. The new cranes are set for delivery in April 2019,” VPA added.
“Acquiring these cranes is another important step in the larger expansion efforts underway at VIG,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the VPA. “The big ships calling the port are only getting bigger and we are charting our course for the future to ensure we will be able to accommodate the larger capacities still to come.”
The biggest ship to call in Virginia to date is the 13,000 TEU COSCO DEVELOPMENT, which stows containers 19-wide on deck.
*NEWS SOURCE
