World’s Largest Tandem-Lift Container Cranes Arrive at MedPort Tangier Terminal

APM Terminals’ MedPort Tangier terminal in Morrocco is set to open in 2019. Photo: APM Terminals

APM Terminals’ MedPort Tangier terminal, located on the Strait of Gibraltar, has seen the arrival of three new giant container cranes capable of handling the largest vessels now plying the Asia/Europe trade lane.

The three cranes, weighing 2,500 tons apiece, represent the largest double trolley ship-to-shore (STS) cranes ever built, and are designed specifically to handle vessels carrying 22,000 twenty-foot containers or more. When boomed up, each crane has a height of 144m and an outreach of 72m with twin-lift/tandem capability. They are also cranes remotely-operated, making for fast, safe and efficient loading and unloading services particularly suited for larger ships, according to APM Terminals. 

The MedPort Tangier terminal, which is set to open in 2019m is strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world’s busiest and most important shipping lanes with more than 60,000 vessels passing through it each year.

According to APM Terminals, the terminal operating unit of Danish conglomerate Maersk, the high-tech terminal will serve as a trans-shipment hub for Maersk Line vessels and its alliance partners and help improve global supply chain performance by attracting more vessel calls and creating more routing options.

Keith Svendsen, Chief Operating Officer of APM Terminals said, “Maersk Line commissioned APM Terminals to build and operate APM Terminals MedPort Tangier so we are designing it around the customer by integrating operational excellence, the most modern cargo handling equipment and an ideal location for connecting global supply chains. This creates the necessary port capacity for the future. Equally important, this port creates another wave of future investment momentum in Morocco as a business and trade center.”

“These cranes use digital technology to ensure the most efficiency during their movements. This will help us to deliver increased productivity throughout the process from lifting a container box off the ship, until it is delivered to its stack in the yard, and vice-versa,” added Dennis Olesen, Managing Director, APM Terminals MedPort Tangier.

A video of the cranes’ arrival at Medport Tangier is below:

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