Somaport, a terminal stevedore owned by COMANAV, which was recently acquired by French shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM, also opted to outfit its cranes with Kalmar’s Remote Machine Interface (RMI), a tool for remote machine monitoring, maintenance tasking and reporting. The decision emphasises Somaport’s commitment to ensuring maximum machine uptime, taking it even a step further with an agreement which calls for Kalmar to perform full maintenance on its cranes for a seven year period.

Demand for Kalmar RTGs continues at Tangier Mediterranean Port, the new,  container handling facility located at the northern tip of Morocco and at the crossroads of the major east-west and north-south shipping routes. Tangier Medgate SA, a joint venture formed by Eurogate, Contship Italia, MSC, CMA CGM and COMANAV, recently exercised an option for five Kalmar RTGs on top of the 11 cranes ordered in the middle of last year. All 16 of the 7+1 wide and 1-over-5 high E-One machines, featuring Bromma twinlift spreaders and Kalmar’s Smartrail®, will be delivered starting in May of this year, with the last units arriving early in 2009.

Orders for Kalmar RTGs are also strong in Spain, a country which is quickly modernising its ports and terminals to efficiently handle the influx of Mediterranean transhipment.

Kalmar has received an order for two E-One+ RTGs from Abra Terminales Maritimas (ATM), operating at the Port of Bilbao. The new 1+7 wide and 1 over 5 high units featuring Kalmar’s automation tool Smartrail will be delivered starting in October, joining ATM’s five Kalmar RTGs already in operation.

Container terminal Port Nou at the Port of Barcelona recently awarded Kalmar an order for two E-One RTGs featuring a 16 wheel design which offers a reduction in ground load pressure over the traditional eight wheel model, thus minimising wear and tear on the terminal surface.

Fuel consumption was a critical concern of Port Nou, which opted for Kalmar RTGs with Variable Speed Generators (VSG) to reduce both energy consumption and pollution. VSG systems optimise engine use by determining whether the crane needs increased power for heavy lifts or little power when idling.