The capacity expansions of the container terminals at logport I and logport III on the left bank of the Rhine announced at the beginning of the year have entered the next stage. On August 12, the first railway crane with an annual capacity of 90,000 loading units began full operation at logport III. A second identical crane is to follow by the end of the year. This expansion in capacity is intended to accommodate the increased demand and additional rail traffic at logport III.
Railway crane at the logport III container terminal
Railway crane at the logport III container terminal
"Since the commissioning of logport III at the beginning of 2013, the quantity of handled cargo has risen continuously, especially thanks to our main customer Samskip Van Dieren Multimodal. Moreover, other customers are now using our terminal, and the tendency is rising," as Erich Staake, Chief Executive Officer of Duisburger Hafen AG, is pleased to report about the positive development of the combined transport terminal in Duisburg-Hohenbudberg. To cite an example, a Belgian rail operator now conducts three trains per week from logport III to Novara, Italy. Lübeck has even become the destination of six trains per week operated out of logport III by a German rail operator. Added to this are numerous customers based at Chempark Krefeld-Uerdingen, such as Lanxess, whose goods are handled by duisport agency GmbH, a subsidiary of Duisburger Hafen AG. The enhanced rail services are resulting in the continuous transfer of traffic to rail, thereby reducing road traffic by thousands of trucks. To guarantee that logport III will continue to handle additional increases in volume in the future, duisport has already commissioned a second, identical railway crane. This crane is set to be installed by the end of the year, after which it will go into operation immediately. Both cranes are equipped with technical innovations designed to keep the noise level as low as possible. These nose-reducing innovations are being accompanied by various research projects. The overall investments for the two cranes, the over 700 m long crane tracks, and the 3 hectare expansion of the terminal area amount to about € 10 million. The continuous capacity expansions at the Duisburg container terminals follow an overall concept of the duisport Group intended to create conditions for further growth. "As early as January 2015, we will have capacities to handle 5 million standard containers. This will allow us to further consolidate our position as the largest container handling location in Central Europe," explains Staake.