Two new container gantry cranes have arrived at Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG’s (HHLA) Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB).
The cranes, which arrived at the Port of Hamburg on 20 November 2024 onboard the Zhen Hua 27, will be erected at Berths 1 and 2 of the Waltershofer Hafen.
The ship is anticipated to stay in Athabaskakai until 23 November to prepare the cranes for unloading at the terminal. It will then be transferred to its ultimate destination at Berths 1 and 2, allowing the cranes to be placed on the quayside by the end of November.
The final commissioning will occur in early 2025.
Ingo Witte, CTB Managing Director, said: “The deployment of the new container gantry cranes marks another significant milestone in the comprehensive modernisation of Burchardkai.
“Our ambition is clear: we aim to make container handling at CTB more efficient, sustainable, and future-ready. Thanks to the size of these cranes, we offer our customers maximum flexibility in handling their largest container ships.”
CTB’s new container gantry cranes are among the world’s most contemporary, capable of handling ships with capacities of up to 24,000 TEUs.
Each of the two cranes stands 80 metres tall and has 80-metre-long jibs that span 26 container rows. They have replaced the formerly smaller models at the terminal. CTB has used these mega-ship container gantry cranes since 2019.
Three further cranes of this size will be constructed by 2026 to increase flexibility for “Ultra Large Container Vessels” at the Waltershofer Hafen. After the expansion, CTB will have a total of 18 mega-ship cranes in service.
Recently, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) secured all necessary regulatory approvals to become a shareholder in Germany’s logistics provider HHLA, which will be majority-owned by the City of Hamburg.