Photo : Trevor Jones ©
At 245 metres long with a beam of 40 metres, the vessel, which is purpose-built to transport such huge cranes, providing an interesting new look to the Durban landscape during her four day berth at the port. The RMG cranes are being shipped to Durban already assembled by the Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) and the vessel also carries four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes destined for Rotterdam and Hamburg on its next stops. "There has been extensive communication between ZPMC, Transnet Port Terminals and Transnet National Ports Authority to get permission for this vessel to enter our port," says Les Biggs, Chief of Operations at Pier 1 container terminal.
"There was reluctance at first to give the go-ahead for the vessel to berth in Durban. This stemmed from concerns around the beam of the vessel being 40 metres wide as well as the overhang of the deck cargo (STS cranes), which could impede the tug operations. Marker buoys in the channel will also have to be moved outward so as not to obstruct tug operations during the arrival and departure of the vessel," says Biggs. The vessel anchored at berth 107, however given its magnitude, cargo and structure some of the other berths are also affected. "Berths 105, 106 and 107 total a maximum length of 650 metres and as such due to the manoeuvring of the vessel during the offloading period no other vessels will be allowed to berth behind it," he said. Berthed the ZHEN HUA No.23 is capable of submerging or raising itself so that the deck of the vessel is always level with the quayside, allowing for easier handling. The purpose-built ship also comes equipped with its own specialised gear to winch the cranes across onto the quayside.
The two RMG cranes will be used at the new Pier 1 rail sliding to transfer containers from internal road truck onto rail wagon for import units, or the reverse for export container units. "Presently the train sets are offloaded with reach stackers, which is a slow process. The cranes can accommodate three train sets simultaneously and can travel the full length of the 850 metre terminal and load directly onto bathtub trailers, which are then taken direct to the container stacks. This will rapidly increase the turnaround of containers to and from the terminal," says Biggs. The cranes, which are manufactured by ZMPC, arrive fully assembled. Following an anticipated six week commissioning process, starting 16 April, they are expected to be fully operational by the end of May.
Source : Ports.co.za
|
