New berth for large container vessels with HHLA
Hamburg’s HHLA group is well equipped to handle large container vessels of the latest generation As of now a berth to service large container vessels of the latest generation is available at the terminals of HHLA Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. In the middle of the week a new berth for mega-containerships was taken into operation by handling the “CMA CGM Christophe Colomb” there for the first time. The new flagship of the French shipping company CMA CGM has a slot capacity of 13,800 TEU. It is the largest containership ever to call in the Port of Hamburg. The new berth at CTB is equipped with five Super-Post-Panamax gantry cranes. They consist of tandem cranes that can shift two 40-ft or four 20-ft (TEU) containers in one move. These container gantry cranes are the largest and most productive of their kind in Europe. CTB now has ten Super-Post-Panamax gantry cranes available for handling mega-containerships. However, handicaps are the present draft and width restrictions on the Elbe river. According to current regulations large containerships, with a capacity of 13,500 TEU and upwards, can only call at Hamburg when loaded to approximately 85 percent of their capacity – and even this only during a limited time window. The more Stefan Behn, HHLA Executive Board member in response of the container segment, urges for a soon adaptation of the navigable channel. “Shipping companies like CMA CGM, which are putting more and more mega-containerships into service, want to come to Hamburg with their cargo, and this without any restrictions,” he appeals. In this context Reinhard Peschel, Managing Director CMA CGM Germany, appreciates the good hinterland connections available from Hamburg to central and eastern Europe. Also transhipment options to Scandinavia and the Baltic area are well received by the French shipping line. Quelle: LogEastics |