Port of Felixstowe orders 12 more rubber-tired gantry cranes

Port of Felixstowe orders 12 more rubber-tired gantry cranes    The Hutchison-operated port of Felixstowe in the U.K. has placed an order for 12 rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGCs) from Shanghai-based Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. (ZPMC), scheduled for delivery in May 2006.
   At the end of last year, the port placed an order with ZPMC for nine RTGCs and one ship-to-shore gantry crane, for delivery in October 2005.
   The RTGCs are capable of lifting one container over five, and can straddle seven rows of containers.
   All the new cranes will be operational at the port’s Trinity Terminal, and will increase the number of RTGCs at the port to more than 100.
   “The UK’s container ports will be reaching capacity within the next few years. We have plans for significant developments at Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay that will address the country’s medium and long-term needs,” said Richard Pearson, managing director of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd., “In the meantime, this new equipment, together with the additional people we will be recruiting, will help us to cope with trade growth over the intervening period.”