Gothenburg-based TTS Port Equipment AB has won a contract to supply container handling equipment for the new container terminal that is currently under construction in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
The company, a subsidiary of Norwegian maritime group TTS Marine ASA, will supply cassettes and translifters capable of handling twin 20 ft containers at weights of up to 61 tons. Delivery will be supported by the company’s local US operation, TTS Marine Inc.
The equipment will be delivered in spring 2007, and the deal includes an option for further equipment for delivery in 2008-9.
The cassettes and translifters will be used to move containers between rail-mounted gantry crane stacks and the on-dock rail at the Portsmouth container terminal, which is being built by container terminal owner and operator APM Terminals North America, and will be able to handle around one million 20 ft equivalent units of containers each year. APM Terminals, an independent company within the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, operates more than 40 container ports worldwide.
The new state-of-the-art container terminal is expected to open in 2008, and will include a 3,205 ft (977 m) quay length with the capability to expand to 4000 ft in the future. Its ten post-panamax quay cranes will be able to unload three post-panamax ships and a panamax ship simultaneously.
The use of cassettes and translifters will replace the conventional use of tractors and trailer sets common in most US terminal operations. It will be the first time that this equipment is employed in a US port. In recent years, TTS has proven this method’s applicability in both container terminals and LoLo operations in ports.
The Portsmouth terminal is a major investment for APM Terminals and is expected to dramatically improve the ability to handle cargoes on the east coast of the United States. The facility will create opportunities in global commerce for all customers while maintaining the highest standards in safety and security.
Evaluations and tests of the cassettes and translifters indicate that using them in Portsmouth will provide many advantages.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
About TTS
Norway’s TTS Marine ASA comprises four divisions – Dry Cargo Handling (Sweden); Port and Material Handling (Sweden); Marine Cranes (Norway); and Deck Machinery (Germany). Part of the Port and Material Handling division, TTS Port Equipment AB, located in Gothenburg, is designated the port equipment ‘Centre of Excellence’.
Gothenburg, 13 November 2006
For more details, contact:
Lennart Svensson
Managing Director
TTS Port Equipment AB
Tel: +46 31 725 79 00
E-mail: info@tts-port.se
