As exports from Vietnam continue to boom, interest grows apace in bringing larger and larger container ships to the region.
Vessels with a displacement of hundreds of thousands of tons and capacities of up to 15,000TEU are now plying the trade routes. These huge vessels require capacious terminals, large ship-to-shore cranes and container-handling technology that is sufficiently versatile, reliable and robust. One Vietnamese port with such facilities is the new Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
This natural deepwater port, 50 kilometres downriver from Ho Chi Minh City, has selected Konecranes container-handling equipment to move cargo about the port, including two laden reach stackers, one empty reach stacker, two empty container handlers, and one 25-tonne forklift, all supplied in 2011. The Konecranes lift trucks employed feature box-type chassis, loading-sensing hydraulics that produce power on demand, electronically controlled environmental engines, and newly designed cabins with improved ergonomics. Joysticks are standard equipment on all Konecranes container trucks.
CMIT has already hosted the largest container vessel ever to dock in Vietnam. The 131,263DWT, 11,388TEU 'CMA CGM Columba' tied up at CMIT on March 30, 2011. As CMIT expands, taking up the full 600 metres of quayside available, more lift trucks and other handling equipment will be needed. At full capacity, CMIT will be able to handle 1.1 million TEU annually, including 840 refrigerated containers.
The port already has major customers, including CMA CGM, the Grand Alliance of NYK, OOCL, and Hapag-Lloyd, and Maersk Line. CMIT, a joint venture between APM Terminals, Saigon Port and Vietnam National Shipping Lines, has quay cranes an exceptional 42 metres high and 22 rows across, giving it the capacity to handle up to the current 15,000 TEU Maersk Line PS Class vessels.
As Vietnam invests in infrastructure for the future and seeks to catch up with the established regional economies of Thailand, Malaysia and China, Konecranes' South-East Asia regional director Steve Gagnuss says the company is well positioned to service such port growth. Included in the company's range of port, terminal and shipyards cranes are forklifts, empty container handlers, reach stackers, straddle carriers, gantry trucks, top loaders, RoRo trucks, RTG and RMG. As well as port handling equipment, Konecranes range includes industrial cranes, chain hoists, wire rope hoists and workstation lifting systems.
The company also offers maintenance services including installation, repairs, upgrades and spare parts. It operates 24 hours, seven days a week, from its engineering offices in Vietnam and in nearby Thailand.
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