Giant gantry crane arives at Port of Tyne

The Port of Tyne, UK, has taken delivery of its second gantry crane for its Container Terminal at Tyne Dock in South Shields.

Built by Liebherr, Ireland, the gantry crane is 70 metres high and weighs 750 tonnes. It has an outreach of 37 metres and is capable of handling containers 13 across the deck of a vessel.

The crane, which is estimated to have cost £6 million, arrived at the port on Tuesday 25^th June 2013.

Andrew Moffat, Port of Tyne Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are adding a second gantry crane to provide increased resilience in our operations and improve productivity and efficiency to better meet our customers' needs. It will put us in a much stronger position to gain new business and achieve our growth plans and whilst it predominantly will be used for containers, it will also be able to be used for bulk cargoes.

"Last year the Port of Tyne's contribution to the economy of the North East was valued at £0.5 billion, supporting 10,000 jobs. This major investment in a second gantry crane will further benefit our customers and support new businesses importing or exporting in the manufacturing, retail and energy sectors," added Andrew Moffat.

The crane was picked up in sections by the cargo vessel MV Copenhagen, which travelled 1,812 nautical miles picking up parts from Liebherr in Rostock, Germany and Fenit, Ireland. A team of contractors from Liebherr will construct the crane over an eight week period. It is expected to be operational by mid-August, the company said.

The new crane will enable the Port of Tyne to handle 98 % of the world's global fleet of short sea container vessels, a company spokesperson added. It will join an existing gantry crane which been working at the container terminal for 22 years.