The Heightening Project for five of the eight quay cranes, which began on June the 3rd, 2021 continues on schedule and is nearing completion.

The works have involved both increasing the height of the Super Post Panamax cranes from 43 to 52 meters to become Malaccamax and operate twelve heights on deck and extending their boom by three meters to surpass row-24 on board.

Crane #105 was commissioned in October and the Terminal is already operating megaships with four Malaccamax cranes. The last crane, STS #104 is undergoing final heightening works and is expected to be ready before the end of the year.

In addition to this important investment, there are other actions that have been conducted this year, some of which have already been completed and others will be done during the first part of 2023.

The Shuttle Carrier pool has been increased up to 23 with the addition of two new units already deployed in operations. Shuttle Carriers are responsible for horizontal transportation of containers between quay, yard and gate.

The Terminal has also completed the expansion of the reefer facilities that began last January, with the addition of 336 new plugs in the automated yard. This brings the capacity to 1,400 plugs, which will meet the growing demand for perishable goods from Latin America and Africa.

Also, in relation to reefer cargo, the Terminal is in the final phase of testing of an innovative automated Remote Monitoring System pioneer in the West Med, which will provide real-time information of reefer containers, will increase safety, and improve productivity in the reefer area. This new system is expected to be operational before the end of the year.

In terms of energy efficiency, the Terminal continues replacing the 3,900 light points of all the operational lighting of the Container Terminal with state-of-the-art LED technology both in the buildings as well as in the automated yard and all the cranes. This project, which began in September, will not only improve the Terminal’s lighting conditions, but will also reduce the environmental impact of the activity by cutting electricity consumption up to 10%. In addition, part of the demand will be self-generated with green energy and CO2 emissions will be reduced by more than 1,400 tons per year, which is equivalent to about 45,000 trees.

In terms of IT upgrades, the following projects are expected to be completed by early 2023:

• Installation of a second Data Centre to provide physical redundancy and increase the level of operational security.
• Upgrade of the Gate Automation System which will deliver greater flexibility to all flows in and out of the Terminal by truck.
• Project to improve communications and business continuity in the automated yard.
Source: TTI Algeciras