A dedication ceremony was held in Convent on the Lower Mississippi River, Louisiana, USA on 3 February to mark the launch of the first HPK Harbour Pontoon Crane from Gottwald Port Technology.
The HPK 330 EG crane was bought by St James Stevedoring Company, which needed a new barge-mounted crane for its mid-stream operations. The crane is intended for direct transloading of cargo from large vessels to river barges.
The dedication ceremony for the new HPK 330 EG Harbour Pontoon Crane attracted a large number of bulk materials shippers, Mississippi River barge operators, port officials, mid-stream stevedores and terminal operators who were attending the parallel MVTTC (Mississippi Valley Trade and Transportation Council) 2005 World Trade & Transport Conference in New Orleans.
‘This day is a true milestone for both St. James and Gottwald,’ said Gottwald chief technical officer Dr Mathias Dobner. ‘We are grateful to St. James Stevedoring Company as first customer and concept initiator of this new type of crane, for placing their confidence in our company. This is not simply a new crane being installed. This order marks the beginning of a new product series and Gottwald is once again asserting its position as a pioneer in developing untapped markets.’
The new crane is named Alex G, after the owner Alex Goldberger, who said: ‘The addition of the Alex G into our fleet of floating bulk cargo cranes is a proud moment. It is a concrete expression of our confidence in the future of St. James Stevedoring Company, Inc., a recognition that our customers deserve the very best in bulk transfer services and a signal From the slewing ring upwards, the HPK is similar to the Gottwald HMK harbour mobiles. The four-rope grab crane has diesel-electric drive, just like all the larger Gottwald harbour cranes. With handling rates of up to 900 tonnes per hour, the HPK 330 EG conveys bulk cargo, such as fertilizers, ores, coal, sugars and agribulks, from the large vessels coming into the mouth of the Mississippi River to the river barges that then carry the loads on the 14,000 miles navigable inland waterway system to the hinterland.
The crane can lift 40t in grab operation up to 30m radius, 31t up to 40m and 21t up to 50m. Lifting capacity on hook is 63 t. Hoisting speed is 120m/min. Maximum slewing speed is 1.5rpm and luffing speed is 60m/min. The crane unit is mounted on a 65m x 22m deck barge with a draft of 4.6m. The entire HPK crane unit on the barge can be moved up and down the river to discharge ships anchored at different locations on the Lower Mississippi River.
While Gottwald supplied the crane, St James Stevedoring was in charge of making the necessary adaptations to the barge. For final assembly, the two companies worked in co-operation.
