Photo: H.K. Riise/Port of Oslo
The all-electric cranes, supplied by Kalmar, will contribute to increased capacity and more efficient container handling. The cranes were designed and built at Kalmar's factories in Taicang and Jingtsu, just outside Shanghai, China. They arrived pre-assembled and will be tested onshore before going into production.
The cranes' voyage aboard Aal Pusan began in Taicang on April 18. The approximately 200-meter long cargo ship passed through Singapore and Setubal in Portugal on its way to Oslo.
Expanding capacity
Oslo is Norway's logistics hub. Approximately 80% of container cargo, from bicycles, books to electronics, paving stones, and food, are destined for Oslo and the surrounding region. Container traffic to Oslo has increased by almost 30% in recent years and the proportion of goods of European origin has almost doubled. This has contributed to a significant increase in cargo transferred from road to sea. The increase in maritime shipping is estimated to replace up to 25-thousand trailers from the continent each year.
- We are expanding the container port and increasing crane capacity to handle a strong and growing market. Maritime transport is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and more than halves climate emissions compared to other modes of transport, says Port of Oslo Commercial Director, Einar Marthinussen.
The cranes are part of a new container stack made possible by terminal expansion. They will increase efficiency in stacking containers, including empty containers that were previously stored outside the terminal. Featuring rubber wheels, the cranes are equipped for remote control whenever the terminal operator, Yilport Oslo chooses to adopt it. Manual control from the cab is also available.
- The cranes will help make operations more sustainable, safer, and faster, says Port of Oslo technical director, Svein Olav Lunde.
Future growth in an emission-free port
Port of Oslo owns the terminal and its infrastructure. It is also responsible for investments to increase efficiency, and achieve its vision to become the world's first emission-free port. The port has already acquired state-of-the-art technology to ensure the lowest possible climate and noise emissions. In 2002, Port of Oslo received the world's first electric stacker cranes on wheels. The container terminal is also equipped with some of the world's quietest and emission-free container cranes. Yilport Oslo operates the terminal, streamlines and automates operations, and is well on its way to becoming emission-free. Electric e-trucks are already in use. Acquiring electric tractors and reach stackers will help the port reach its goal of a zero-emission terminal.
- The container terminal is designed for a maximum of 13 stacking cranes (RTG - Rubber Tyred Gantry Crane) with a capacity of 450,000 TEU. We started in 2015 with eight all-electric RTG cranes. Adding three more cranes brings us to 85% capacity utilization. This is a step-by-step, planned expansion that is necessary to remove volume peaks and handle future growth, says Svein Olav Lunde.
Facts: RTG (Rubber Tyred Gantry) cranes are mobile stacker cranes on rubber wheels. They lift containers from the dock, transport and stack them in other areas of the terminal. RTG cranes, with their ability to create large stacks, use space more efficiently, and reduce the need for other transport to move containers from the dock. Supplied by Kalmar, the RTG cranes cost approximately Nkr. 60 million. Each crane is 28 meters high and weighs 161 tons.
Contact: Svein Olav Lunde, Technical Director, Port of Oslo KF cell: +47 900 23 831