ISI Posted on February 26th 2014

Safety assessments at Southampton’s container terminal

IMES and ABP ports contracted ISI to provide the PUWER 1998 Safety Assessment on the four new £26 million cranes at Southampton Western Docks.

Southampton docks – ariel view

Dockside cranes

Southampton docks are amongst the most productive in Europe and the new ship to shore gantry cranes will enable Southampton’s container terminal to handle the growing number of ultra large container vessels (ULCCs), cementing the port’s position at the forefront of global container trade.

Constructed by Liebherr in Ireland, the four 1,300-tonne, 126m (413ft) high gantry cranes were shipped to Southampton in component form before being assembled on site and edged into place on a newly constructed quay wall at the end of January.

Once operational, the cranes will be able to handle ULCCs of 24 containers wide and will have a lift capacity of 65 tonnes. The four new cranes will be supplemented by a fifth similar Liebherr crane, which will be relocated from Southampton’s existing container berths.

As reported in the Southampton Daily Echo, Nick Ridehalgh, Southampton port director, said: “These impressive cranes are a demonstration sign of our confidence in the future of the port of Southampton and its container operation.
“They will allow us to continue to handle the biggest ships afloat now and long into the future and will keep the container port, which is already the most efficient in Europe, at the forefront of the industry.”

Gantry Cranes – PUWER Assessments

We have recently completed the PUWER 1998 Safety Assessment and look forward to seeing the new cranes in full operation soon.