Kalmar has won a contract to increase the height of eight Kalmar rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) for Baltic Container Terminal Ltd (BCT) in Gdynia, Poland.

The modification will raise the lifting capacity of the cranes from one over three to one over five containers, and increase BCT's handling capacity from 400,000 TEU to 600,000 TEU. As part of its expansion plans, BCT has also ordered four new Kalmar 5+1 wide RTGs capable of lifting one over five containers high.

Kalmar parts & projects general manager Kari Ronkainen said crane heightening was most cost-effective, as the machines were in excellent condition.

"Finding the right approach required a lot of technical research and planning. It is a solution that will be valuable for terminals where physical grounds cannot be extended and the only possible direction for growth is upwards. By extending the container stacking height, capacity can be increased considerably," he said.

Kalmar would supply materials, technical calculations, electricity and documentation for the rebuild, and BCT would perform the installation under Kalmar's supervision. The work begins at Gdynia in late May and should be completed by October.