For first time in 25 years, the Commercial Port of Vladivostok announced today that it has received new cargo equipment, including four container handling cranes, each one weighting approximately 1,000 tons.
“The container handling equipment will enable us to diminish the time of loading and unloading operations for containerships and provides advantages for the shipping lines,” said Andrey Tokarev, Vice-President of Port Division, FESCO Transportation Group.
According to Vyacheslav Pertsev, General Director of Vladivostok Commercial Seaport Co., Plc, the “purchase of the container equipment was made under the approved strategy of the port’s development until 2015, integrated into the general strategy of FESCO Transportation Group, focused on container business development.”
The cranes were delivered to the Golden Horn Bay at the Commercial Port of Vladivostok onboard of the special-purpose ship Zhenhua 1. Two STS cranes of 50-ton capacity and two RMG cranes of 45-ton capacity were designed by Shanghai Port Machinery Co. Ltd (ZPMC) especially for Vladivostok Commercial Seaport. Following the mooring, the ship was submerged down to the level of the upper edge of the berth and the cranes were rolled onto the berth using special unloading rails. The new cargo handling equipment will be operated on berths No. 15 and No. 16 at the Commercial Port of Vladivostok.
The purchase of the heavy-lift cranes follows a 1.5-year feasibility study and preparation works, including reconstruction of the road coverage, under crane rails, engineering and electrical networks.
“This event is extremely important and significant since it has marked the beginning of the wide-scale modernization of the port in relation to the container business. Over the last year, preparatory works have been in the process of getting the berth ready to receive the new equipment,” said Pertsev. “We expect this equipment will be put into operation in 1.5 months and we will initiate the second phase of the new container terminal construction, berth No. 14, next year.”
He said that in 2008, the Commercial Port of Vladivostok is estimated to handle 250,000 TEU with its container turnover increasing up to 650,000TEU by 2010. “Vladivostok Commercial Seaport is the only one in the Far East to operate cargo handling equipment like this,” noted Pertsev.
