The first two Liebherr STS P167 L (WS) container gantry cranes were delivered in the new Baltic port of Bronka on 16 August. With a boom range of 51 metres, these container gantry cranes are capable of discharging or loading the farthest in a row of 18 containers on deck. In twin-lift operation, the cranes each have a lifting capacity of 65 tons. This optimally equips Bronka as a multifunctional cargo- handling facility for clearing the latest post-Panamax-plus vessels. The deepwater port of Bronka will be equipped with a total of four post-Panamax container gantry cranes manufactured at Liebherr’s Rostock plant.
“We shall be using only highly efficient equipment and cutting-edge technologies in the new port of Bronka. Liebherr’s STS cranes are equipped with state-of-the art speed control systems, an advanced loader control system with high torsional stiffness, as well as high-grade metal structures,” says Alexei Shukletsov, CEO of the Port of Bronka. This was already the second merchant vessel to have called at the new Port of Bronka before the official port inauguration planned for September, 2015. The “Meri” arrived from the port of Hanko in Finland in June with the first three of a total of ten RTG cranes manufactured by the Finnish crane builder Konecranes. With a lifting capacity of 50 tons beneath the spreader, these have a stacking height of one-over- five standard containers and can reach over a stack width of six containers plus discharge and load rail tracks. The deepwater Port of Bronka’s cutting edge terminal facilities and the recently built port access canal permit the acceptance and clearance of post-Panamax vessels with a slot capacity of up to 8,100 TEU. Water depth during the first stage of construction in September 2015 will be 11.2 metres. By the end of the year this is planned to reach 14.4 metres, with prospects of 16.0 meters. That will further enhance the competitiveness of this new cargo handling facility. Bronka, St. Petersburg’s new outlying port, is accordingly an outstanding addition to the Port of St. Petersburg’s existing terminals that do not possess the essential technology or water depth for handling mega-ships.