San Antonio Terminal Internacional receives additional cranes

The Chilean container terminal took delivery of two rubber-tired gantry cranes and two ship-to-shore cranes capable of handling new Panamax vessels with 22 container rows on deck and stacks nine containers high over deck.    Two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and two rubber-tired gantry cranes arrived at the San Antonio Terminal Internacional last week aboard Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd.’s 34,588-dwt. special transport vessel, the Zhenhua 21.
   The new STS cranes, which are part of the terminal’s $105 million expansion plan, can handle new Panamax vessels with 22 container rows on deck and stacks nine containers high over deck.
   Upon commissioning, which is expected by Nov. 2015, two Panamax and six post-Panamax container cranes will be lined up along the terminal’s 800-meter long container quay. San Antonio Terminal Internacional will then be the only terminal in Chile equipped with eight STS cranes.
   Terminal expansion also includes adding 130 meters of berth and dredging all berths at the San Antonio Terminal Internacional to 15 meters deep.
   The expansion, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2017, will increase the terminal’s annual handling capacity to 1.6 million TEUs.
   San Antonio Terminal Internacional, a subsidiary of SSA Marine and SAAM S.A., is located approximately 55 miles west of Santiago, Chile. The terminal handles containers, grains, bulk, cars and liquid bulk.