22.08.2019

Kalmar to raise Moroccan cranes

Kalmar has signed an agreement with Moroccan container terminal Eurogate Tanger (EGT) to upgrade four ZPMC ship to shore cranes.

Kalmar will plan, engineer and execute the project to raise the height of the four cranes by 11 metres and at the same time extend the booms by six metres. The upgrade, which is due to start in early 2020, will enable the terminal to serve the largest container vessels, starting in mid 2021, when the project is scheduled to be completed.

Eurogate Tanger is located on the Straits of Gibraltar in Morocco, and operates as a transhipment hub for the western Mediterranean, Africa, plus North and South America. The terminal's fleet includes several Kalmar machines, including rubber tyred gantry cranes.

Eurogate Tanger chief executive Andrea Cervia said: “With this investment, which is the biggest since the commencement of operations in 2008, EGT will be ready from the second half of next year to accommodate the latest generation ultra large container ships with a capacity of 23,000 TEUs working up to 25 rows across. In this way we are looking to the future, because we intend to confirm and extend our role as the transhipment hub of choice in the Mediterranean, enabling us to continue to offer a top level service to our customers. We decided to partner with Kalmar once again because of the proven track record and technical expertise of their dedicated crane upgrades team.”

Kalmar vice president sales Eduardo Prat added: “Eurogate Tanger has been an important partner of ours for many years so we are delighted to be able to help them futureproof their operations ready for handling the next generation of mega size vessels. Our track record and expertise in these kinds of crane upgrade projects is exemplary, and we are the only provider capable of completing the work in such a short timescale.”