DP World Southampton continues to equip for the future

The cranes were built in sections by Liebherr Container Cranes in Ireland. Over the coming months a team of engineers will erect the cranes on site in Southampton. Once assembled, the cranes will stand over 85 m tall and will be moved to the quayside on specialised transportation wagons. They will become operational in May after substantial and rigorous testing and will join four sister cranes commissioned during 2008 and 2009.

The new cranes which are capable of lifting containers 45 m above the quay will enable the handling of 14,000 teu vessels with nine tiers of containers on deck and 11 under deck. They are an important addition to the existing fleet of 10 gantry cranes and a mobile harbour crane and together with the remaining crane fleet, they will permit the terminal to service three ultra large container vessels at the same time.

According to the company, this investment fits well with the dredging programme to deepen berth 205 and 206 and to widen berth 207 that was completed in December 2010 and which provides more than 1,000 m of quay with more than 14 m depth.