Big box crane propels Port of Tyne growth
The Port of Tyne’s new £6m gantry crane has been moved into position at Riverside Quay on South Tyneside UK.
Built by crane specialists Liebherr, the crane has the capacity of a 37m outreach that can handle 13 containers across the deck of a vessel and will increase productivity by 25%.
Andrew Moffat, Port of Tyne’s CEO said: “This major investment will enable the Port to expand its container operations and further benefit our existing customers with increased resilience.
“Since the container terminal first opened over 20 years ago, the Port has attracted some of the UK’s leading businesses, including Nissan, Tommee Tippee and Barbour and our second gantry crane will continue to grow logistics operations.”
The new crane will enable the Port of Tyne to handle 98% of the world’s global fleet of shortsea container vessels, putting the Port in a much stronger position to gain new business and achieve more business growth for the North East of England
Following the announcement earlier this year that the Port plans to invest £180m in expanding its wood pellet operations, the multi-million investment in its logistics operations is further evidence of the Port of Tyne’s strong performance in recent years, achieving three years of record growth.
The Port’s contribution to the economy of the North East was valued at £0.5bn last year, supporting 10,000 jobs. If the remaining development plans for South Tyneside succeed, the Port could see 900 construction jobs, 300 full time jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs created as a result.
