APM Terminals Tangier receives STS cranes

APM Terminals Tangier receives STS cranes APM Terminals said Thursday its new Tangier, Morocco container facility in March took delivery of its last three super-post-Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes from China’s Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. (ZPMC).
   The remaining 11 ECO-RTGs (rubber-tired-gantry cranes) on order for the terminal are scheduled for delivery by the end of May.
   The terminal, which was formally opened in July 2007, is expected to be fully operational by the end of June when all the equipment is in service.
   Import container activities at APM Terminals Tangier began in February and it is anticipated that 1 million TEUs will be handled from April 2008 to March 2009.
   “The launch of APM Terminals activities at Tanger-Med port has been a great success, with performance levels that already compare with those of longer-established, fully operational terminals,” said Etienne Rocher, managing director of APM Terminals Tangier.
   In a related development, APM Terminals on Thursday finalized a purchase agreement with ZPMC for the supply of RTGs across its global portfolio.
   The Hague, Netherlands-based terminal operator said it has already purchased more than 200 cranes from ZPMC.
   APM Terminals has similar agreements with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd., of South Korea, Noell Crane System GmbH, of Germany, and Kone Cranes, of Finland.