New ship-to-shore crane arrives at Port of Grangemouth

Date 28 August 2018

A new multimillion pound container crane has arrived this week in the Port of Grangemouth. The crane is set to increase the number of ship-to-shore cranes at the port by 50%.

The addiction of the third Liebherr container crane to Forth Ports’ fleet is part of a major investment program at the port to increase handling capacity and service for customers. The crane is 45-metre-high, weighs 534 tonnes and arrived in large sections on board the heavy load carrier vessel Eemslift Ellen. The crane was designed and built at the Liebherr facility in Killarney, South Ireland.  

The crane has been onloaded onto the quayside and will now be constructed by the expert build team from Liebherr on site at the port. The crane will be ready to lift its first cargo by late October and will improve vessel turnaround times, increase capacity for growth and support existing operations. The crane is also future proofed to enable taller straddle carriers to work underneath the crane legs, allowing the port to further increase its overall container storage capability.

Derek Knox, Grangemouth’s Port Manager, said: “This is an exciting time for the port as we welcome our new ship to shore crane. We handle some of Scotland’s most valuable exports, such as fine foods and drinks, so it is important that we deliver fast turnaround times to maintain the vessel schedules and ensure their reliability to service the Scottish export market. The new crane adds to our fleet of Liebherr ship-to-shore cranes and will provide consistency for the operations and engineering team. The Liebherr team will build the crane like a giant Meccano set over the coming weeks and we look forward to its introduction to our operations for the benefit of our customers in the autumn.”

Gerry Bunyan, Sales and Marketing Manager from Liebherr Container Cranes said: “In 2006 the Port of Grangemouth received its first Liebherr ship to shore container crane, a second followed the year after. Since that time, the cranes have been key components in the port’s success. We are thrilled to be able to continue our partnership and supply a third container crane to the port. It is particularly satisfying when a customer recognises the value that a Liebherr container crane can bring to their operation. We look forward to watching this crane help to increase further the business at Scotland’s leading container port.”

Liebherr is one of the world’s leading port crane manufacturers. This new crane, which can handle vessels with 14 containers stowed across the width of the deck, is part of Forth Ports’ focus on maintaining Grangemouth as Scotland’s number one container port and providing the facilities required to service future container volume growth for export and import cargoes both in European and worldwide markets. 

Source Forth Ports