MSC PSA European Terminal prepares for relocation

The container terminal at the Port of Antwerp took delivery of five new ship-to-shore gantry cranes for its new location at the Deurganck dock on the left bank in preparations to move from the Delwaide dock on the right bank.    The MSC PSA European Terminal (MPET), a container terminal at the Port of Antwerp, took delivery of five new ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes from Shanghai-based equipment manufacturer ZPMC for its new location at the Deurganck dock on the left bank in preparations to move from the Delwaide dock on the right bank.
   The STS gantry cranes, which are over 130 meters tall and can reach across 25 rows of containers, can handle two 40-foot containers or four 20-foot containers simultaneously, PSA said.
   The terminal also placed an order for four more identical quay cranes from ZPMC, which are due to arrive near the end of 2016.
   When fully operational, MPET’s new location will be equipped with 41 quay cranes across 10 berths with a total quay length of 3,550 meters. In addition, the new terminal site will have a total handling capacity of nine million TEUs a year.
   The goal is to be moved by the end of 2016, however no set date has been established, PSA Antwerp Manager Corporate Communication Caroline Creve told American Shipper.  
   “When completed and fully operational, it will be the single largest container terminal in Europe,” MPET General Manager Dirk Oellibrandt said in a statement.
   The total investment for the expansion on the left bank MPET facilities will be approximately 400 million euros (U.S. $424.5 million).
   The terminal, which was previously known as the MSC Home Terminal, is a joint venture between PSA and TIL Group.
   The Antwerp Port Authority’s board of directors approved of MPET’s relocation in May 2014, the Port of Antwerp said. The terminal’s current site at the Dewaide dock was at fully capacity in 2010.