Ports in Croatia, Oman and Reunion Island have upgraded their fleets with new state-of-the-art container handling equipment, including some of the world’s largest ship-to-shore cranes.

An intermodal terminal in Australia is also expanding its fleet with new rail mounted gantry (RMG) cranes.

Rijeka Gateway Future Container Terminal, Croatia

Rijeka Gateway ordered 15 Liebherr electric rubber tyre gantry cranes (ERTGs) and two rail mounted gantry cranes (RMG). 

All the cranes are emission-free and will be operated using Liebherr’s remote operator stations.

Rijeka Gateway is a joint venture between and APM Terminals (51%) and Enna Logic (49%) and is located on Croatia’s North Adriatic coast.

Liebherr's ERTGs are powered by electric busbar technology with drive-in auto-connect functionality. 

The elimination of all hydraulics and the utilisation the Liebherr Liduro Power Port, a mobile lithium-ion battery that provides power for cross-travelling between stacks ensures emission free operation, is in line with the terminals’ decarbonisation roadmap. 

The electric powered RTGs are supplemented by two RMGs for intermodal handling at the terminal.

“By leveraging remote operations and advanced equipment, the terminal is establishing new benchmarks for operational efficiency, safety, and environmental responsibility in the Adriatic region,” says Declan O’Sullivan, Liebherr’s General Manager Sales.

Port Réunion, Reunion Island

Société De Manutention Et De Consignation Maritime (SOMACOM) has ordered three Kalmar diesel-electric straddle carriers for use at the Ile de la Réunion Terminal.

Port Réunion, the busiest container port in the Indian Ocean, is on the west coast of Réunion Island. 

It is the island’s only port, located some 20 km from the island’s capital St Denis. Its fleet already includes Kalmar straddle carriers, reachstackers, forklifts and empty container handlers. 

Priscilla Damour, SOMACOM chief executive officer, says: “Kalmar equipment has always delivered in terms of performance and availability. We are confident that the new units will continue this trend and ensure that our fleet helps us to deliver the best possible service for our customers at Réunion.” 

Port of Salalah, Oman

As part of a USD300 million container terminal upgrade, the Port of Salalah has received the first four of 10 new ZPMC ship-to-shore cranes. 

Once the project is completed in the first quarter of 2025, annual capacity at the terminal will increase from 5 million to 6 million TEU.  

Strategically located on the major East-West Shipping Lane, the Port of Salalah is viewed as one of the region's best located ports for access to the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and East Africa.  

The new fully electric cranes are among the largest equipment of their kind in the world. With a 75 m outreach - longer than an Airbus A380 plane - they can handle vessels 26 containers deep. 

A lifting height of 58 m above the rail and 77 m total hoist height (including below rail) and a rated capacity under spreader of 65 tonnes mean they are capable of serving the largest Ultra Large Container Vessels currently in operation.  

The Port of Salalah was already ranked as the second most efficient container port in the world for the second year in a row in the 2023 Container Ports Performance Index (CPPI). 

This new equipment, combined with the ongoing implementation of Lean practices to shave precious seconds and minutes off each activity, is expected to raise levels of efficiency even further and offer industry leading port stay times. 

Somerton Intermodal Terminal (SIT), Australia

Australia’s Intermodal Terminal (ITC) has ordered seven Konecranes rail mounted gantry (RMG) cranes for its new Somerton terminal in Melbourne, Australia. 

The delivery also includes seven Konecranes remote operating stations (ROSs). Delivery will take place between April and September 2025. The order was booked in December 2023.

The new terminal will be split between an inner terminal equipped with four RMGs, and an outer terminal equipped with three RMGs. The Konecranes ROSs will be divided between the terminals in the same way.

“We chose Konecranes as we wanted RMGs from a well-established company that would support us for the longer term. Konecranes has proven to be a leader in developing technology for safe remote operation,” said ITC Chief Development Officer Leigh Cook.

Konecranes and ITC are now also discussing a service agreement for the new Melbourne intermodal terminal.

Wholly owned and backed by Aware Super, one of Australia’s leading superannuation funds managing AUD170 billion (USD111 billion) on behalf of its 1.1 million members, the ITC aims to assemble a national portfolio of terminals with its first being the AUD400 million (USD262 million) development of Somerton Intermodal Terminal.

ITC is Australia’s only privately funded, major independent owner and operator of intermodal terminals and aims to capitalise on the country’s shift towards rail freight from trucking.