TRIESTE – The vessel Zhen Hua 25 arrived this morning at the AGCT container terminal in Rijeka with two new quay cranes.
The purchase is part of the programme to expand operational capacity at the Adriatic Gate Container Terminal.
Zhen Hua 25 berthed at 9:30 after a voyage of more than 16,000 nautical miles, having departed Shanghai on 25 September. On board were the two new STS (Ship-to-Shore) cranes, which in the coming days will be unloaded, commissioned and tested before entering service by the end of the year.
The cranes were built by ZPMC, the world’s leading manufacturer of container-handling equipment. They are new-generation Super Post Panamax models, developed for AGCT’s operational needs and equipped with specific structural reinforcements. They are also the first prototypes of this series.
With these units, the terminal will be able to handle even the largest container vessels currently in service worldwide.
In July, AGCT had already welcomed the CMA CGM Adonis (15,536 TEU), thanks in part to recent dredging works financed under an investment plan exceeding 40 million dollars. The new cranes will operate alongside the 2013 units, significantly boosting productivity with their 53-metre outreach and lifting capability up to 40 metres in height.
Modernisation extends beyond the quay: two new hybrid RTGs and a fleet of electric terminal tractors are also on the way, in line with the concessionaire’s environmental and energy-efficiency strategies. The move – as reported today by La Voce del Popolo – confirms AGCT’s role (now in direct competition with Maersk’s Rijeka Gateway) in the development of Rijeka’s logistics platform and its connections to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and other Central European markets.
Adriatic Gate Container Terminal is 51% owned by ICTSI, an international group with 34 terminals in 20 countries, while the remaining 49% is held by Luka Rijeka. The arrival of the new cranes marks a new phase for Brajdica, comparable to the 2001 modernisation with the arrival of the Samsung cranes, consolidating the Port of Rijeka’s position in container traffic in the Upper Adriatic.
