Port of Grangemouth pushes forward with expansion

A 1 million British pound (U.S. $1.34 million) resurfacing project is currently underway at Scotland’s largest container port and is scheduled to be completed next month.    A 1 million British pound (U.S. $1.34 million) resurfacing project is currently underway at the Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s largest container port.
   Luddon Construction is carrying out the resurfacing project, which will be completed next month, increasing the quality, capacity and speed of servicing vessels, port owner and operator Forth Ports said in a statement Thursday.
   The project is part of the port’s continual multi-million pound investment to further increase the terminal’s capacity. The port expects the new resurfaced area to add approximately 1,000 TEUs of additional capacity.
   In addition, the port is developing a new terminal operating system, which will be rolled out in 2018.
   Back in June, the port placed an order with Liebherr for a new ship-to-shore crane.
   The crane will become operational in 2018 and will be able to handle vessels with 14 containers stowed across the deck. It will be in addition to the two Liebherr cranes the port already has, which can work vessels with 12 containers stowed across the deck, Grangemouth Port Manager Derek Knox said back in June.
   Even earlier in the year, the port took delivery of three new ESC340 straddle carriers, increasing the fleet at the container terminal to 16, and also added a new Hyster empty container handler to the fleet.