Gdynia port gets new Panamax cranes, post-Panamax to follow

Gdynia port gets new Panamax cranes, post-Panamax to follow    The port of Gdynia, Poland has taken delivery of the first of a series of quayside container gantries at its Baltic container terminal (BCT).
   The new Panamax dimension gantry, supplied by Kone Cranes of Finland, has an outreach of 38.5 meters and a lift capacity of up to 60 tons. It is the second crane of this type to be installed at the terminal. Two further new units, to be delivered subsequently to replace existing cranage, will be post-Panamax or super post-Panamax dimension units.
   Delivery of the Panamax dimension container gantry enables the terminal to work container vessels with capacities of up to 4,000 TEUs, the port said. According to the port, with the new crane in service, the annual capacity at BCT will increase from 400,000 TEUs to 600,000 TEUs by the middle of this year.
   International Container Terminal Services Inc., owner of BCT, acquired the terminal for $42 million in early 2003 under a government privatization program and has implemented a 15-year $100 million investment program to raise annual throughput capacity to one million TEUs.