Port Said increases container capacity

Four new weekly windows for shipping line calls are available alongside the main quay, in addition to two vacant windows that can be used as a buffer for delayed mother vessels and feeder vessels arriving outside their schedules. Replanning of the stacking yards has freed up additional space, increasing PSCT’s overall capacity to 300,000 teu.

The state-owned PSCCHC has also purchased new equipment for its fleet, adding two super post-Panamax gantry cranes, with a 60-tonne capacity and 58 m outreach and capable of handling 22 rows of containers across, and two transtainer RTGs with a capacity of 40 tonnes. The new cranes started operation at the beginning of June, boosting the terminal’s fleet to nine gantry cranes and ten RTGs in all, along with other landside handling equipment.

The expansion comes after both “K” Line and Yang Ming announced that they were shifting their main activity to the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT). Both lines want to increase the capacity of vessels on their Asia/Europe service to maximise loading volumes, and are looking to add at least 300 teu to the vessels of 5,500 teu currently in service. They are also looking at deploying vessels of more than 8,000 teu on this trade in the near future, and their plans require a deeper draught for vessels alongside the terminal berth.