The Port of Baltimore has taken delivery of six KCI Konecranes mobile gantries, costing USD1.2 million each, as part of a strategy to boost storage capacity and reduce handling times.

Maryland International Terminals operations manager Brian Miller told The Baltimore Sun that the 125-tonne cranes used the latest computer and satellie tracking technology to streamline container retrieval at Seagirt Terminal.

"You need to stay current with the technology that's out there and these are really state of the art," Mr Miller said.

The new cranes, shipped from KCI in Finland to Baltimore, are 70 feet (21 metres) high and 80 feet (24 metres) wide, enabling four-high, six-wide stacking of 20-foot containers.

Last year Port of Baltimore handled 493,135 20-foot containers, down almost three percent from the 508,320 units handled in 2000.

(Picture courtesy of The Baltimore Sun)