Saigon Newport opts for greener RTGs

Saigon Newport (SNP) has ordered six Kalmar E-One2 Zero Emission rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes for its Tan Cang-Cat Lai terminal.

The 6+1 wide and 1-over-5 high machines, which are guaranteed to provide high performance, low operating costs and no local emissions, will be capable of handling 40-tonne loads and be equipped with Cargotec’s autosteering and container position verification system, Smartrail.

To be delivered during the second quarter of 2011, they will join the port’s 26 Kalmar all-electric E-One RTGs that are in operation at the Cat Lai and Cai Mep container terminals.

“We are very satisfied with our existing fleet of Kalmar E-One RTGs, so we were pleased to know that Cargotec could offer machines with the same reliability but an even lower environmental impact. This, combined with the payback on energy costs, helped us make our decision,” said Vu Hoang Hai, deputy manager of SNP.

The new cranes will receive mains power through cable reel and regenerate energy when lowering loads, supplying the power back to network so that the customer only pays for the actual energy it consumes. SNP has also opted to equip each machine with a diesel power unit to use when changing stacks or as a back-up power source.

According to Cargotec, the Kalmar E-One2 Zero Emission RTGs already feature the industry’s longest service interval, requiring less maintenance compared to diesel-electric cranes because the main item for maintenance – the power unit – can be eliminated. This not only increases the machines’ uptime but lowers operating costs and helps to keep the terminal environment cleaner by eliminating oil leakages.

As the largest container terminal operator in Vietnam, SNP handles 42% of the country’s container throughput and accounts for more than 65% market share in the Ho Chi Minh City area. The Tan Cang-Cat Lai container terminal handled 2.4m teu in 2009.
(Source:www.container-mag.com)