On March 16, TERCAT took delivery of four Super-Post-Panamax quay cranes for its new container terminal at Muelle Prat, making a total of eight such cranes at the facility.
TERCAT, a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group, received the first four quay cranes for Muelle Prat on 6 March. The cranes have a height of 42 metres under spreader and weigh approximately 1,700 tonnes. They each have a maximum load capacity of 61 tonnes and an outreach of 22 container rows.
TERCAT has already taken delivery of other terminal equipment for Muelle Prat including 15 Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASC), and 11 Shuttle Carriers, used to transport containers from the quay side to the yard. The ASCs are one-over-five models and span nine container rows. A further 21 ASCs and nine shuttle carriers are on order.
The advanced semi-automatic equipment that will be used at Muelle Prat is expected to increase the efficiency of its operations, especially when servicing mega-vessels.
The terminal is scheduled to be operational in mid-2012. It will have 1,500 metres of quay, a draught of 16.5 metres and a 100 hectare yard.
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Dredging Today Staff, March 20, 2012; Image: TERCAT