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Yilport Puerto Bolívar has expanded its mobile harbour crane (MHC) fleet to four, with two new Gottwald MHCs scheduled to arrive at the Ecuador facility at the end of August 2019.
The two cranes, scheduled to begin operations in November, offer a 58 m working radius, 100 tonnes safe working load, 60 m boom length and are capable of serving vessels up to 19 wide.
Robert Yuksel Yildirim, chairman of Yilport Holding, said: “Our investments are just the tip of the iceburg for our plan to create not only one of Ecuador’s but also Latin America’s greatest terminals.
“After receiving shipments for our gantry cranes, our port will be a complete ‘game changer’ in the region.”
In addition to the MHCs, six ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes and 18 electrified rubber-tyred gantry (e-RTG) cranes are scheduled to be delivered by Mitsui E&S Machinery Co as part of Puerto Bolívar’s phase one investments.
The gantry cranes will be delivered in three shipments to complete Yilport’s concession commitment for Puerto Bolívar with the first shipment of two STS gantry cranes with a 22-row outreach and six e-RTG cranes to be delivered in January 2020.
The second and third shipments, consisting of four STS cranes with a 24-row outreach and 12 e-RTGs, will be shipped on July 2020 and January 2021.
The e-RTG cranes will be 1-over-6 high and 7+1 wide to handle yard operations and all 18 will be fitted with state-of-the-art technology with the aim to boost the terminal’s capabilities.
Yildirim added: “Yilport Holding continues to invest in Puerto Bolívar to elevate the port among the leading terminals capable of handling ultra-large container vessels in the West Coast of Latin America.
“Our strong growth in 2018 with a 27% volume increase is clear proof of our never-ending efforts to get better and dominate the market in the region.”
Currently, after the completion of the first phase of dredging operations, Puerto Bolívar and the channel has -14.5 m draft.
As part of the second part of dredging operations the draft will be brought to -16.5 m, allowing the port to serve the largest container vessels.