APM Terminals is exercising an option to purchase 22 automated, rail-mounted gantry cranes from Austrian crane maker, Hans Kuenz GmbH and ABB of Sweden for the deepwater Maasvlakte II terminal to boost capacity to 2.7 TEU million, according to Shipping Gazette.
Phase one of the new terminal at the Port of Rotterdam is scheduled to begin operations in November when it will boast 48 of these 30-metre-wide cranes.
They will use a fully automated and technologically advanced system to load and unload containers onto and off an external truck chassis, and onto a fleet of 37 battery-powered lift automated guided vehicles.
"Operational end-to-end flow testing of our facility started this month and we are well on track for our terminal opening in November," said managing director Frank Tazelaar.
"The new order underlines our commitment to deliver high terminal performance for the next generation of ultra-large containerships," he said.
The first phase of the Maasvlakte II terminal calls for a fleet of guided vehicles in combination with 128 storage racks on an overall terminal area of 86 hectares.
The initial order of 26 gantry cranes was placed in 2012, with the first deliveries made in March 2013. The new order will begin delivery in March 2015 and will continue until mid-2016.
The terminal includes an eight-track intermodal rail terminal to directly link containerised cargo to inland European destinations. The terminal also supports a modal split to move half of the freight by barge or rail.
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