PORT OF WILMINGTON CELEBRATES FIRST PHASE OF PORT UPGRADES; GREENER, SAFER ENVIRONMENT
Delaware Gov. John Carney joined state and local officials today along with port partners, the labor union representatives, customers and vendors and executives of GT USA Wilmington (GTW) in celebrating the completion of the first phase of the Port of Wilmington’s electrification project that brings a cleaner, greener, safer environment to the port.
The opening of the new container yard project today featured a demonstration of 5 all Electric Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes. The yard project was completed at a cost of $37 million and is part of an $88 million investment in improvements by GT Wilmington since taking over operations at the Port in 2018. The port company is committed to investing up to $600 million at the current port site and in building a new facility at the nearby Edgemoor site on the Delaware River.
Following the speeches by Governor Carney and the GT officials the star of the show was the demonstration by the new all-electric Kone Cranes. These cranes are some of the newest in the industry and have the following benefits to industry and environment:
- 100% electric no carbon emissions
- Battery assisted for continued electric use when off the rail
- Auto steering equipped for precision gantry travel
- 41 metric ton lifting capacity
- Pin-point efficiency on container taken up (e.g., crane 2 just made a production pick in 15 minutes that would have taken a reach stacker 3 hours of labor, time and fuel burning.)
- State of the art safety sensors to maximize safety of port employees and assets
- Precision micro motions for direct loading and unloading of containers
- Anti-sway hoisting functions
- 100% LED lighting throughout crane
- Stack profiling equipped
- RTGs are all electric which cost more up-front vs diesel but have the following benefits:
- Longer life
- Less maintenance
- No hydraulics which improves performance and make them more eco friendly
- If the RTGs need to change locations, a battery pack is mounted that is pre-charged to help move the crane
- The RTGs are 7 container lengths wide with a drive lane
- The RTGs can stack 5 containers high and carry over them
“We want to thank Gov. Carney, state and local officials, our union partners and our customers for attending our celebration. Their continuous support is the anchor allowing us to gain a competitive edge at the Port of Wilmington,” said Peter Richards, CEO of Gulftainer, GT USA Wilmington’s parent company. “We are proud of our accomplishments and improvements to the Port over the past three years and look forward to continued success for the port and the people of Delaware over the next 47 years.”
GT USA’s successes to date at the Port of Wilmington includes:
- Saved the State of Delaware over $45 million in subsidies over the last 3 years – money that could now be spent on education and local communities
- the creation of new union labor positions
- increasing container storage capacity from 350,000 TEUs to 650,000 TEUs
- improvements to the Port’s cold storage warehouses
- extending rail to link 6 of the 8 berths at the Port’s, all of which now have 38-foot depths
- the addition of three new 45-ton reach-stackers, and 16 terminal tractors
Additionally, GT USA upgraded the port’s information technology system and terminal operating system.
“These improvements increase overall productivity and operational capabilities at the port, improve our customer service levels, and create a cleaner, greener, safer environment,” Richards said. “We stand steadfast in our unwavering commitment to the state of Delaware and to the Port of Wilmington.”
Richards said “Permitting for the new port facility at Edgemoor is expected by year-end 2021 and construction could begin in 2023.”