Two new Super Post-Panamax gantry cranes have arrived at STI-Chile adding to the six existing units.
The ZPMC’s Zhenhua 21 sailed on 30th July with two Ship to Shore Cranes and two RTGs for San Antonio Terminal International (STI), a subsidiary of SSA Marine and SAAM, on the central region of Chile. The special transport vessel brought the biggest container cranes ever received in a container terminal in Chile. The environmental-friendly STS Cranes are capable of handling New Panamax vessels with 22 container rows on deck and nine container high over deck.
Upon commissioning, expected by November 2015, a total of two Panamax and six Post-Panamax container cranes will be lined up along STI’s 800m container quay, making STI the only terminal in Chile with eight STS Cranes. The cranes are part of STI’s $105 million expansion plan, that includes the addition of 130 metres of berth and the dredging to -15m of all its berths. When completed in mid-2017, STI will increase its yearly handling capacity to 1.6 million TEUs. Currently, STI’s infrastructure is able to serve two New Panamax vessels simultaneously.
“These new cranes represent our commitment to Chile where we will, when the above mentioned expansion project is completed, have invested close to 240 US Milion. This also shows our commitment to our customers, who are eagerly waiting for the completion of the Panama Canal expansion to deploy New-Panamax vessels in the region,” said Jose Iribarren’s, STI’s General Manager.
SSA Marine, a subsidiary of Carrix, is the largest US-owned, privately-held container terminal operator and cargo handling company, more than 200 locations worldwide, including port operations throughout the US as well as internationally in Panama, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, South Africa, New Zealand, Vietnam and Canada.
SAAM, aside from its Terminal in Chile, ITI (Iquique), ATI (Antofagasta), STI (San Antonio) & SVTI (San Vicente), has also terminals in Florida (USA), Ecuador (Guayaquil), Colombia (Cartagena) and Mexico (Mazatlan).
