Four of the world’s largest gantry cranes recently arrived
at the Port du Havre, France as part of the ongoing efforts design to expand
the capabilities of France’s leading container port for foreign trade to
accommodate the world’s largest container ships.
Coming from China by sea, the four gantries arrived on the
Zhen Hua 27, a ship that specializes in transporting heavy loads. Each gantry
weighs 2,100 tons, has a lifting capacity of 54 meters under the spreader, with
a range of 26 rows of containers, and can handle two 40-foot containers
simultaneously.
According to the port authority, studies were then carried
out to make the unloading process safe and find the solution most suited to the
dimensions of the cranes. Temporary rails were positioned at the edge of the
dock to move each gantry using powerful winches from the ship to the quay and
it had to be performed at high tide.
The new gantries are scheduled to enter service in October
adding to the 10 gantries already at Le Havre’s Port 2000 terminals. This
addition is part of the overall expansion of the terminal facilities at the
port. They also noted that land preparation and construction work on the quay
at Stations 11 and 12 has begun. The new container terminal is expected to be
operational in 2024.
At the same time, they are completing the study phase for
the direct river access to Port 2000. The study is expected to be completed by
the end of 2020. Work is expected to start in 2022 on this phase of the
expansion with commissioning at the end of 2023.