Hutchison Ports BEST crane fleet expands to 15 in Barcelona

Hutchison Ports BEST has installed two new ship-to-shore (STS) quay cranes at its facilities in the Port of Barcelona, increasing the terminal’s capacity to handle the world’s largest containerships.

The cranes arrived at BEST at the end of June, with assembly, testing and fine-tuning work carried out since then, so both units are now fully operational.

Their addition forms part of BEST’s growth strategy to keep pace with international trade demand and the continued growth in containership size and capacity.

Manufactured by ZPMC in China, the new cranes are built to operate ships with up to 26 rows of containers and stand 55 metres tall under spreader.

They are the largest cranes in the world, featuring a goose-neck design, a feature intended to improve efficiency, productivity and flexibility in loading and unloading operations at the dock.

With the two units in place, BEST’s crane fleet now stands at 15 Super Post-Panamax dock cranes, alongside 68 automated cranes and 40 shuttle carriers, operating along 1,500 metres of berthing line with a draft of 16.5 metres.

Guillermo Belcastro, CEO of Hutchison Ports BEST, said: “What these two cranes represent goes far beyond the addition of two new assets. They represent more capacity for our customers, more productivity for the terminal, and more flexibility to respond to an increasingly demanding environment. But, above all, they will make BEST a more resilient terminal, better prepared to anticipate the challenges of the future and continue to offer a reliable, efficient and competitive service.”