Box terminal opens at northern end of Suez Canal

Box terminal opens at northern end of Suez Canal    Suez Canal Container Terminal, the new Mediterranean transshipment hub majority controlled by A.P. Moller-Maersk, started operations Oct. 3 when it handled the “Chesham,” a 600-TEU container vessel.
   The deep-draft Egyptian marine facility is located at Port Said, at the northern end of the Suez Canal. It appears to be designed as a link between the large mainline containerships plying the Suez Canal and local eastern Mediterranean feeder services. A.P. Moller-Maersk already operates a transshipment container hub in the western Mediterranean in Algeciras, Spain.
   A joint venture between A.P. Moller-Maersk, another Danish company and local Egyptian government and private interests, Suez Canal Container Terminal has an initial 30-year concession to operate the terminal.
   The terminal started operations with three post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes. Two more will be added at the end of the year. Eventually 12 quay cranes will be deployed.
   Under the first phase of development of the Suez Canal Container Terminal, 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) of berth will be provided. The terminal has an option to add another 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) when required.
   The terminal venture initially included the Dutch port operator ECT as a shareholder, but A.P. Moller-Maersk bought ECT’s stake in August to raise its own share to 60 percent.
   APM Terminals, the port arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said it expects activities at the canal terminal to “escalate at a rapid pace in the following months.”