Port of Virginia to receive new cranes this month

The port finalized a $217 million contract in November 2016 for Konecranes to build and deliver 86 rail-mounted gantry cranes, and the initial six are scheduled to arrive at the end of this month.    The Port of Virginia on Friday signaled the start of a two-year cycle that’s expected to see the delivery of 86 new cranes, which are the centerpieces of the expansion taking place at the port.
   On that date, the heavy-load vessel Happy Buccaneer left Poland, bound for Virginia laden with six new rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs).
   The inaugural delivery is headed for Virginia International Gateway (VIG), and once the vessel is at berth, the units are expected to be off-loaded, mounted on rails, taken through some minor assembly, tested and then put into service by the end of April, when the first of 13 new container stacks at VIG will be ready for use.
   “We are closing in on a critical milestone, which is the delivery of this first group of cranes,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart said in a statement. “From this point forward, we will be receiving regular deliveries of these RMGs to VIG, and then it will transition across the river to Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).
   “This is also the starting point where we can begin the process of recouping the investment being made at VIG,” Reinhart explained. “As the stacks go online, we will begin capitalizing on the new capacity and efficiency we’re creating.”
   In November 2016, the port finalized a $217 million contract for Finnish company Konecranes to build and deliver 86 RMGs. Roanoke-based TMEIC Corp. is supplying the technology for the operation systems that control the cranes’ functions.
   The contract, according to the port authority, is the largest one-time order for automated stacking cranes in industry history.
   Following the first delivery of RMGs, which is scheduled for the end of January, subsequent deliveries are planned, and the new container stacks will go into service at intervals through November.   
   In total, 26 new RMGs will be delivered to VIG and the remaining 60 will go to NIT.
   The expansion at VIG is anticipated to be complete by spring 2019.
   Construction on the $320 million VIG expansion began in February 2017. The work includes adding 13 new container stacks to the container stack yard – supported by 26 new RMGs – lengthening the berth, installing four new ship-to-shore container cranes, doubling the size of the rail operation and adding new lanes to the truck gate.
   Ultimately, the work is expected to increase the annual throughput capacity of the terminal to 1.2 million containers.
   “Our planning and focus on building a modern port capable of handling the biggest ships in the Atlantic trade for years to come is coming to fruition,” Reinhart said. “The end result is a port that will be sustainable and have the capacity to grow for decades.”