Phase One in the buiding of the first major, privately developed container terminal in the US will be complete on 7th September 2007, with TTS Port Equipment AB having designed and supplied the container handling system.
Container terminal owner and operator APM Terminals North America, through an investment of US$450 million, has established the terminal on the Elizabeth River, City of Portsmouth, USA. The facility will double the existing cargo capacity of Hampton Roads, which is already the second busiest general cargo port on the US east coast.
“Our present terminal in Portsmouth, Virginia, has been operating at near full capacity for several years. We have no room for expansion so it was necessary to look elsewhere for a site capable of meeting our future goals” says Nick Taro, senior vice president for US East Coast and Gulf Ports for APM Terminals. “This is a positive step towards preparing our company for continued growth and success in the mid-Atlantic region.”
The use of cassettes (referred to by one customer as ‘the world’s best kept secret’) 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 has been used in a US port.
APM has taken delivery of the cassettes and translifters capable of handling twin 20 ft containers at weights of up to 61 tons. Delivery has been supported by TTS’ local US operation, TTS Marine Inc. There is an option for TTS to deliver further equipment 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 will be able to handle around one million 20 ft equivalent units of containers each year.
The new state-of-the-art container terminal includes a 3,205 ft (977 m) quay length with the capability to expand to 4,000 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 terminal is expected to dramatically improve the ability to handle cargoes on the east coast of the United States, while maintaining the highest standards in safety and security.
-ENDS-
Notes for Editors
About TTS
Norway’s TTS Marine ASA comprises five divisions – Dry Cargo Handling (Sweden); Port and Material Handling (Sweden); Marine Cranes (Norway); Drilling Equipment (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, 05 June 2007
For more details, contact:
Lennart Svensson
Managing Director
TTS Port Equipment AB
Tel: +46 31 725 79 00
E-mail: info@tts-port.se
