First 20,000 TEU container ship at the Tollerort in Hamburg
On Friday morning at 9 o’clock, shipping company COSCO Shipping Lines’ new flagship - on its maiden voyage - reached the port of Hamburg. Here it is being handled at the main ship berth of the HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT). COSCO ships have been using these facilities regularly since 1982. On the occasion of the arrival of the "COSCO Shipping Aries" Senator for Economics, Transport and Innovation, Frank Horch and HHLA CEO Angela Titzrath, in the presence of representatives of the shipping company and the Chinese consulate in Hamburg, were there to honour the long-standing and proven cooperation between companies from both countries.
The "COSCO Shipping Aries" is the first ship to transport more than 20,000 standard containers to HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort.
Frank Horch, Hamburg's Senator for Economics, Transport and Innovation, underscored the close ties between Hamburg and China. Almost every third container handled at the Port of Hamburg comes from or goes to China. Horch cited "digitization" and "sustainability" in particular as key issues that are the focus of both countries, referring to the Green Shipping Line project, which in the future aims to supply container ships in Shanghai and Hamburg with shore power.
Horch thanked all those who made the smooth arrival of the COSCO Shipping Aries possible and expressed his confidence that the construction of the fairway could begin immediately in the course of the year when the building rights were granted.
Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA, said: "Our companies have been working together successfully for over 35 years. HHLA has long been preparing for the arrival of large ships such as COSCO Shipping Aries. We have continuously invested in our facilities, as seen here at Tollerort. In the future, we want to justify the trust of our customers as well, through great performance and a high quality of service.”
Titzrath announced that HHLA at the Tollerort would be upgrading another berth for ships with a capacity of more than 20,000 TEU. HHLA currently has a total of three berths at its terminals Burchardkai (CTB) and Tollerort for the handling of these mega-freighters. In mid-March, CTB will be expecting the "CMA CGM Antoine de Saint-Exupéry", the next arrival of a vessel with more than 20,000 TEU. The Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen will also sail ships in this size category to the Tollerort, starting in May.
Three of the five 20,000-meter cranes at the Tollerort were put into operation in autumn 2017. Two identical counterparts have been in use since the beginning of 2017. All five have a boom length of 74 meters and a lifting height of 51.5 meters above the quay wall. They are designed for container ships with 24 container rows transversely and can simultaneously unload or load two 20-foot containers in twin operation. Thanks to the increased lifting height, up to nine stacked containers can be operated on deck. Each crane weighs 1,500 tonnes and has a maximum payload of 63 tonnes. Unlike other gantry cranes, the new cranes on the CTT have truss jibs. This gives them a comparatively low overall weight.
The "COSCO Shipping Aries" is expected to be dispatched by Sunday evening at 18.00 hours at the CTT large ship berth. This berth itself also experienced its baptism of fire with the handling of a COSCO ship: On July 16, 2011, the "COSCO Glory" with its load capacity of 13,000 TEU was the first large ship at the then newly upgraded quay wall. Since then, the flagship vessels of the COSCO Shipping fleet have grown significantly, as have the CTT container gantry cranes.
Source: hhla