Three new Post Panamax ship-to-shore container cranes arrived at Sohar Port and Freezone on board a specialised crane transport last Thursday. Equipped with the latest technology, these all-new gantry cranes were built to order by ZPMC in China. They represent a multi-million dollar investment in the future of Sohar as the new gateway to the Gulf. Oman International Container Terminal ( OICT ) officially took delivery of the new cranes following their 6,500 mile journey by sea from Shanghai that took over one month. Each crane has a staggering 52-metre reach, equivalent to 18 rows of containers. This means the new cranes can handle very large container ships; this consolidation of cargo is an important factor for shipping lines to reduce their costs. Captain Rashid, Chief Executive Officer of OICT commented; "Automation and information is critical for today's container business and these cranes are a huge step forward for Sohar in terms of technology." Specialised engineers With severe weather lashing the Oman coast over the past few days, the delicate operation to transfer the cranes from the ship's deck to land is now underway. It will take a team of specialised engineers from China and Oman around eight days to complete the offloading and installation work. The cranes were welded to the main deck for their journey from the Far East and crews are now busy with cutting gear separating them from the ship. Once that is completed, rail tracks will be laid so the cranes can be carefully maneuvered from the ship's deck to the quayside. "Our challenge will be to compensate the weight of the cranes with ballast as they are removed from the ship, as well as to balance the rise and fall of the tides," said Yang Wenhui, Deputy General Manager of ZPMC, the Chinese team heading the operations. Wenhui continued: "The ship and quayside need to stay at exactly the same level for many hours at a time, or there is a risk that the tracks won't be able to support the cranes." Once the three cranes are installed and container operations are consolidated at the new Terminal-C facility, now under construction, OICT will more than double its current capacity. OICT is targeting 1.5 million TEUs annually once all three phases of Terminal-C are completed, and already handles around 200,000TEUs a year. The new capacity will allow over 200,000 additional containers destined for Oman, but currently rerouted through the UAE's Port system, to be handled directly in Oman. This will help reduce congestion at the Hatta border and will be a further boost for Sohar's growth. Andre Toet, CEO of Sohar Port commented: "The new cranes will keep Sohar ahead of our competitors for many years to come. The growth in Sohar is frankly mind-boggling and there are still massive opportunities for international investors, especially in Sohar Freezone." Asked if Sohar can increase its current 50 million tonnes of cargo to 90 million tonnes a year by 2020, Toet smiled: "Yes, of course we can...the new cranes represent a huge uplift for our business in Sohar." Source : Times of Oman
