Ashdod Port, Israel’s largest seaport, is upgrading two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to enable the port to receive megaships.
The upgrade project will be handled by cargo handling solutions provider Kalmar.
The project is the first of its kind for ports in Israel and will make the two STS cranes, located on platform 23 at the port, the tallest cranes of their type in the country.
The upgrades are expected to cost approximately $9.4 million and include increasing the height of both cranes, as well as extending the waterside boom.
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After the work, the cranes will reach a new height of 44 metres (increased by 9 metres), and will have a new arm reach of 60.5 metres (increased by 5.5 metres) — allowing the cranes to work with ships up to 20 containers wide.
By the end of the process, the cranes will be capable of handling megaships carrying 14,000TEUs with a height of nine containers.
Read Kalmar's whitepaper — “The Path to Automation RTG Terminals: Converting to AutoRTG”
CEO of Ashdod Port Company, Isaac Blumenthal, said: “We are taking action according to the company's strategic plan as part of the preparation for the era of competition.
“Ashdod Port is continuing to upgrade the service for the port's customers by advancing infrastructure projects that will ensure that excellent service is provided to megaships that carry TEU 14,000 and began to call the port last May.
“These investments are required for the arrival of megaships and international lines of services, to meet the needs of Israeli importers and exporters who do business with the Far East”.
