Port de l’Ile de la Réunion, the busiest container port in the Indian Ocean, has ordered 12 straddle carriers from Kalmar for its new facilities at Port Est.
The straddle carriers are four-high CSC450 models with twin-lift spreaders.
Kalmar Terminal Development has been helping the port in the planning of the new facilities. These services included estimation of the required fleet size and identification of optimal layouts, as well as other assistance associated with the conversion to straddle carrier operations. Kalmar Port Optimizer, a new simulation tool, has also been used in the process.
The French Port of La Réunion currently handles some 180,000TEU per year and is reporting annual growth rates of up to 5%. The container terminal is situated on Port Est, which was inaugurated in 1986, and currently operates in the container yard 12 Kalmar reachstackers and a range of Kalmar empty container handling trucks, terminal tractors and fork lift trucks.
The Est Port extension, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2006 after two-and-a-half years’ work, will also include the construction of a new 650m-long berth, as well as the widening of the approach channel from 130m to 160m and dredging to increase the draft from 12m to 16m, allowing it to handle the latest generation container vessels.
Kalmar said that switching from reachstackers – which require wider aisles and more space to manoeuvre – to a straddle carrier system, the port could increase its container storage capacity by 50%, from 10,000TEU to 15,000TEU.
Kalmar Straddle Carriers vice president Ilkka Annala explained: ‘The twinlift spreader on the models we will supply to Port Réunion will allow the machines to mirror the handling efficiency of the terminal’s ship-to-shore cranes, thus reducing waiting times on the quayside and increasing overall productivity. Port Réunion needs to upgrade its handling systems and there is no doubt that a straddle carrier system is the best solution for its future.’
