The first two of an eventual total of six Super post- Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes are being delivered this week to Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port complex located approximately 80kms southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. Six rubber tyre gantries (RTGs) will complete this first shipment with a further two STS cranes and seven RTGs following in mid-February.

Vietnam receives its first Super post-Panamax quay cranes

“With an outreach of 22 container bays, the new cranes can handle vessels up to a size of 15,000 teu when CMIT opens for business on March 15, 2011,” said Michael Them Rasmussen, General Director of CMIT.

“CMIT will be the first container terminal in Vietnam to cater to this size of container vessel and will be complemented by direct access to the newly dredged Cai Mep Terminal Channel offering a minimum water depth of -14m” added Mr. Rasmussen. Shipping lines have shown tremendous interest in southern Vietnam over recent months with twelve vessel strings already offering direct liner services between Cai Mep and North America, Europe and the Mediterranean, and with a further three new services recently announced.

Container volume at the Ho Chi Minh City and Cai Mep ports surged by 21% in the first eleven months of 2010 leading to a full year 2010 estimated throughput of over 4.3m teu.