OREANDA-NEWS. On 02 September 2008 Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (LSE: NCSP, RTS: NMTP, MICEX: NMTP) announced that OOO Baltiisk Stevedore Company (an NCSP subsidiary) has acquired two new Liebherr LHM400 harbor cranes worth more than 5 million euros. This is the first time Baltiisk Port has acquired equipment of this caliber and there is no similar equipment at ports in Kaliningrad region. The cranes have already been delivered.

OOO Baltiisk Stevedore Company General Director Sultan Batov said: “The new equipment is being purchased under a comprehensive investment program to modernize and expand port capacity with the aim of more than tripling the capacity of the container terminal from 80,000 TEU a year at present to 300,000 TEU a year".

The Liebherr LHM400 is a universal mobile wheeled harbor crane. The crane has lifting capacity of 104 tonnes and a boom of 48 meters, enabling it to handle very large ships up to Post-Panamax class. Both cranes are equipped with an automatic spreader for 20- and 40-foot containers. The modern design and mechanisms provide high efficiency of loading and unloading work - up to 16 operations per hour. The container spreader can be replaced with other mechanisms if necessary to process all kinds of cargo.

The improved chassis provides greater maneuverability in a limited space and reduces pressure on the dock. This makes it possible to use the new cranes where it is impossible to install heavy rail loader, which does not involve further modernization or reinforcement of the dock.