Further strengthening its position as a pioneer in the field of yard crane automation, Cargotec recently handed over the first three of eight automatic stacking crane (ASC) blocks to Hamburger Hafen und Logistik's (HHLA) Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) in Hamburg, Germany. The crane blocks are each equipped with three Kalmar ASCs and related technology.

Cargotec is the first crane supplier to provide the automation and control systems in a project of this scope and technical complexity. Cargotec developed a crane block simulator designed to better aid the integration of its intelligent applications with CTB's container handling equipment and terminal operating systems.

The ASC block design consist of two inner cranes operating on the same rails and one outer crane working on its own rail which makes it possible to pass the two inner cranes. The three-crane concept affords greater flexibility and allows the ASCs to work more independently and ensuring good performance at peak times.

"By using intelligent crane selection when scheduling and routing crane assignments, container moves are optimized and maximum throughput is achieved," comments Jorma Tirkkonen, Senior Vice President of Port Cranes at Cargotec.