Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s first fully automated container terminal and one of world’s most advanced port facilities, will soon be handling the largest boxships to arrive in Australia after the recent delivery of two new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes.

“We are now ready to receive the largest vessels that will come to Australia as part of the upsizing strategy undertaken by the all the major shipping lines in the world. This trend will lead to an increasing number of supersized vessels sailing into Phillips Bay and mooring at VICT – the only terminal in Melbourne capable of receiving them,” said Bruno Porchietto, VICT chief executive officer.

VICT’s new ship-to-shore cranes have arrived

VICT’s new automated cranes are the largest in Australia, with a lift height of 49 meters or 10 meters higher than the terminal’s five existing STS cranes. The 60-meter boom outreach enables the new cranes to operate 22 containers across on a vessel. The existing cranes, on the other hand, are capable of handling 19 containers across with their 50-meter boom outreach. The new cranes also offer better productivity with their lashing platforms mounted 15 meters high compared to the cranes that only allow pinning to be completed at the quay level.

VICT’s acquisition of the new cranes form part of the AUD235 million expansion project that will increase the terminal’s capacity to 1.25 million TEUs.