Seatrade Maritime: Kingston Freeport Terminal receives two new STS cranes

Kingston Freeport Terminal (KFTL) has received two new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, which will join the 16 already in operation at its 2,400-metre-long quay.

KFTL is a subsidiary of CMA CGM’s terminal operating venture, Terminal Link.

The units, which have a reach of 60 metres and a lifting height of 52 metres above rail, were manufactured by the Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company (ZPMC).

KFTL volumes account for approximately one-third of the traffic at the Jamaican logistics centre. CMA CGM deploys vessels of up to 15,500 teu on its PEX 2 service between East Asia, the Caribbean and North Central America (NCSA). ZIM is also an important customer, operating similar vessels on the ZCP service between Asia and North America under a vessel sharing agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Company.
The cranes, among the largest of their kind in the Caribbean, will significantly enhance Jamaica’s capacity to efficiently accommodate the new generation of mega-vessels transiting through the expanded Panama Canal.