APMT adds automated cranes to Tangier port

APM Terminals has announced orders for 12 remote-controlled ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and 32 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (ARMGs) to equip its new 5m teu MedPort Tangier facility, currently under construction at the Tangier-Med II port complex.

Automated cranes to add productivity and capacity to Africa's new MedPort Tangier facility.
Automated cranes to add productivity and capacity to Africa's new MedPort Tangier facility.

Opening in 2019, the new container terminal will employ both conventional and fully-automated operations, as well as a truck gate system. It will have a total quay length of up to 2 km, and increase the Tangier-Med complex’s overall capacity to more than 9m teu.

The STS cranes will be delivered at the end of 2017 by Shanghai-based ZPMC. They feature full automation (with the remote crane operators to be located in an office building close to the quay), a second trolley and optical character recognition technology.

The ARMGs will also be delivered at the end of 2017 and will come from Australian-based Kunz. They will be deployed in 16 container yard blocks, each serviced by two ARMGs.

Dennis Olesen, APM Terminals MedPort Tangier’s managing director, said: “Our goal is to use proven technology to create high-productivity for our clients on one of the world’s most strategically important trade lanes on the Strait of Gibraltar.”