 Somaport has ordered 10 E-One+ RTGs from Kalmar. |
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Swedish crane manufacturer Kalmar has been buoyed by a wave of orders in the Mediterranean, including all-electric rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes for Moroccan and Spanish ports.
Kalmar has received an order for 10 E-One+ units from Somaport at the Port of Casablanca. Somaport, a terminal stevedore owned by COMANOV, which was recently acquired by French shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM, also outfitted its cranes with Kalmar’s Remote Machine Interface for remote machine monitoring.
The 7+1 and one-over-five high E-One+ RTGs fitted with Bromma twinlift spreaders and Kalmar’s autosteering and container position verification system, Smartrail, will be delivered by early 2009.
Michel Geernaert, Kalmar France SA’s port division director, says Kalmar’s dedication to the local market was key to finalising the agreement with Somaport.
"For many years, Kalmar has worked hard to meet the handling needs of Somaport’s global parent company. Kalmar’s commitment to establishing a local service set-up in Morocco convinced Somaport and CMA CGM that Kalmar’s solutions were the best fit for its operation," he says.
Meanwhile, Tangier Medgate SA, a joint venture by Eurogate, Contship Italia, MSC, CMA CGM and COMANOV, has exercised an option for five Kalmar RTGs on top of the 11 cranes ordered last year. All 16 cranes will commence delivery this month and be completed by early 2009.
In Spain, Kalmar received an order for two E-One+ RTGs from Abra Terminales Maritimas (ATM) SA operating at the Port of Bilbao. Delivery of the units will start in October. The order is part of an investment programme to update the terminal’s infrastructure and handling equipment. ATM is also retrofitting its eight existing RTGs with Kalmar’s Smartrail.
Container terminal Port Nou at the Port of Barcelona ordered two E-One RTGs with a 16-wheel design, equipped with Smartrail. According to Kalmar, fuel consumption was a concern for Port Nou which opted for the RTGs with variable speed generators to reduce energy consumption and pollution.
The value of the orders was not disclosed.
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