DCT Gdansk receives first cranes

DCT Gdansk receives first cranes

DCT Gdansk SA, the company developing a new deepwater container terminal in Poland, has taken delivery of the first of three post-Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and two of five rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes from Liebherr Cranes of Killarney in Ireland.

      The Liebherr STS cranes incorporate Bromma twin-lift spreaders and have a lifting capacity of 60 tons. With a 52-meter (170.6 feet) outreach, they will be capable of handling ships carrying containers 19-across on deck.

   Delivery of the remaining STS and RTG cranes, also ordered from Liebherr last year, will take place during the spring.

   The first phase of the DCT Gdansk will start operations on June 1. The continuing construction of this phase will be completed by the end of September when 650 meters (2,133 feet) of quay, dredged to a depth of 16.5 meters (54 feet), will give a storage capacity of 500,000 TEUs.

   “The delivery of these cranes — well ahead of schedule — marks a key stage in the development of the terminal,” said Fred Kamperman, general manager of DCT Gdansk. “Once erected, they will give us the ability to handle vessels of 6,000-TEU capacity and greater, making DCT Gdansk a truly world-class, modern container facility.

      “We have been delighted with the pace of construction progress to date: quay, surfacing, buildings and rail facilities are all in an advanced state of completion,” Kamperman said.

   Depending on demand, a second phase of development, providing another half-million TEUs of capacity, will be constructed, the company said.

   The Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund II, owned by Australia’s Macquarie Bank Group, is the major shareholder and equity investor in DCT Gdansk.