Semi-automatic APMT cranes

APMT, part of the A.P. Møller – Mærsk Group, had ordered 38 cranes for the new terminal on the Second Maasvlakte, including eight semi-automatic SQCs (Super Quay Cranes). These cranes are designed to load and unload larger container vessels, mainly Maersk Line vessels.

The design and engineering activities have been carried out entirely by Kalmar and Iv. The SQC crane is a rail-mounted ship-to-shore crane designed for loading and unloading container vessels. The crane is approximately 130 metres long and comparable to the Erasmus Bridge in height. The crane is of the Box Girder type and is equipped with two trolleys: a main trolley for transporting containers from the vessel to the container stacking platform and vice versa and a second trolley for transporting from the stacking platform to the AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles). The cranes are capable of serving Super Post-Panamax vessels and can handle 2×40-foot or 2×20-foot containers in a single lift (twin-lift and tandem-lift).

Although such a crane looks like a standard quay crane from a distance, it is not just a copy that has been made a little bigger and wider here and there. The project’s technical challenges were many, and many aspects taken for granted in ‘normal’ container cranes had to be considered in more detail, such as the design of the positioning system and the joints in the crane structure.

The implementation of near fully automated APM terminals, including semi-automatic SQCs (Super Quay Cranes), allows for more efficient and faster operations, ultimately helping the client to recoup the investment in a large ocean-going vessel more quickly.