COSCO Shipping Ports and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a heavy-duty equipment manufacturer, have signed a contract for three ship to shore (STS) cranes for PCT (Piraeus Container Terminal SA) terminal of Piraeus Port on 27 May.
The contract for the new cranes, which will be equipped with an advanced remote operation and control system, was signed on the cloud platform for the first time with a video link between Hong Kong, Shanghai and Athens in Greece.
COSCO and ZMPC closed the deal successfully, despite the impact of Covid-19.
Piraeus Port, a COSCO-owned port, is located in the southeast of Greece, near the city of Athens. It is included in the top-50 container ports of the world, while it is the largest container port in the Mediterranean and the fourth largest in Europe.
“This contract signing is an opportunity to provide more solid foundation for the strategic co-operation between ZPMC and COSCO Shipping Port,” stated the Shanghai-based manufacturer.
ZPMC sold STS cranes to the Greek port for the first time in 2010, when four STSs were purchased by PPA (Piraeus Port Authority) Greece in two batches. PCT Terminal purchased 19 STSs and 16 rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) from ZPMC after COSCO Shipping Ports started operating the Port of Piraeus.
Piraeus’ last crane purchase took place in 2018, when the facility took delivery of eight STS cranes. These cranes, with a maximum reach of 72m, a maximum hoisting height of 54m above the surface of the terminal and hoisting weight of 80tonnes under the spreader, can pick up two 40/45ft containers or four 20ft containers at the same time.
They are of the largest STSs in the world with the independent dual-hoisting system by the company with the patent authorisation. They can meet the requirements for the operational capacity of 22,000TEU vessels in Piraeus Port.
