Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has ordered 20 eco-efficient Konecranes Rubber Tired Gantry (RTG) cranes and 8 Konecranes Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes for the Port of Savannah in the US. Six of the STS cranes will be the largest ever made by Konecranes. GPA recently announced projects to increase container capacity at Savannah by 20%, plus these equipment investments aimed at increasing Savannah’s big ship capability.
Griff Lynch, executive director of the GPA, said: “The GPA is always preparing for the next evolution of global trade. The new high-performance and long-lasting STS cranes on order are part of the Big Ship/Big Berth program. Six of the new cranes will be very large, enabling us to serve the New-Panamax container ships, which will reach us thanks to the dredging of the final portion of Savannah’s shipping channel, which will be done by late 2021.”
Speedy machines
The STS cranes will have a very high trolley speed of 250 m/min and hoisting speeds of 90/180 m/min. Their lifting capacity will be 66t in twin-lift, 86.4t with a cargo beam. They will have a designed structural life of over 40 years, thanks to a special rigid gantry frame that will also give operator comfort and a very high container move-per-hour rate.
The 20 Konecranes RTGs on order are diesel-electric machines with cable reel readiness for electric operation. They are high-performance, 16-wheel RTGs with a lifting capacity of 50t, a stacking height of 1-over-6, and a stacking width of 6 plus truck lane wide. They will be equipped with Konecranes’ Active Load Control system, which prevents container sway. The Auto-steering feature is included, which keeps the cranes on a pre-programmed, straight driving path. They will also have Konecranes’ TRUCONNECT remote monitoring system.
The STS cranes will be delivered in two batches, the first in June 2023 and the second in October 2023. The diesel-electric RTG cranes will be delivered in four batches of five cranes in 2021-2022
