Belfast Container Terminal's latest addition

Kalmar has signed a six-year Kalmar Care service agreement with long-term customer Belfast Container Terminal Ltd in Northern Ireland covering the supply of maintenance support personnel for Belfast Victoria Terminal 3 (VT3). The agreement came into effect at the start of this month.

Belfast Container Terminal Ltd (BCT), the largest container terminal in Northern Ireland, is located in Belfast Harbour and operated under concession by Irish Continental Group. In January 2019, Kalmar won the tender to supply a complete AutoRTG system to the terminal, comprising eight AutoRTGs operated with Kalmar remote-control (RC) desks. Kalmar has also supplied a similar system to BCT's sister site in Dublin.

As part of the new service agreement, Kalmar will supply maintenance support personnel with a 24/7 presence to secure the operational availability of all cargo-handling equipment at the VT3 terminal, including third-party machines. In addition to the Kalmar AutoRTGs, the equipment fleet at BCT includes empty container handlers, forklift trucks and ship-to-shore cranes.

Alec Colvin, terminal director, BCT, notes the terminal's relationship with Kalmar as an equipment and service supplier goes back over 20 years. "This agreement will provide us with the skilled maintenance resources we need to secure the availability of all our critical equipment going forward."

Steven Russell, regional manager, Kalmar Ireland, says: "This service agreement with BCT will put the deep knowledge and experience of our world-class maintenance experts at their disposal. The collaboration between our two organisations is a true partnership built on mutual trust and transparency, and we are delighted to be able to continue it."