The first of 2 Liebherr STS cranes at Novorissysk. Image: Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd.
LIEBHERR Container Cranes has delivered and commissioned two panamax ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes in Vladivostok, and taken orders for further STS cranes from Novorossiysk and St Petersburg, indicating a move up the TEU capacity ladder to be ready for bigger ships.
The Vladivostok cranes, with an outreach of 38 metres, join a pair of Liebherr RMG cranes.
The Novorossiysk order is a repeat for cranes with an outreach of 46 metres to arrive by the end of the year.
St Petersburg will receive three panamax cranes with an outreach of 38.5 metres in December.
As Russia is still mainly served via transshipment using small-to-medium sized container vessels, the implication is that more direct services using bigger deep-sea ships are envisaged by its gateway ports, notes London's Containerisation International.