New cranes to improve port efficiency

According to Minister in the Ministry of Trade and Industry Diane Seukeran, the RTGs will ensure quick, efficient, safe and secure cargo-handling and management services which will contribute to Trinidad and Tobago’s economic competitiveness.

Referring to the backlog of containers at the port, especially during the Christmas season, the minister said, "It is ridiculous what takes place every year in December. The backlog at the ports cause serious problems in our trade industry and we cannot afford to miss out on our business transactions."

Seukeran said that the RTGs were a major step in provision of services to satisfy the needs of numerous stakeholders, from shipping lines, to merchants to hauliers and consignees.

She added that while growth and development of the Point Lisas Port were commendable, emphasis must be placed at its sister port at Port-of-Spain.

"We must now examine how information and technology applications can be shared across both business entities to enable the capital port to develop its full potential," she said.

Benefits to be gained with the operations of the RTGs include optimising yard space through creation of high density storage; easier retrieval of containers from the container yard; faster ship turnaround due to better container retrieval and loading in the container yard; and increased berthing space based on faster ship turnaround.

The commissioning was a groundbreaking event for Plipdeco as it symbolised the evolution of the port in its quest to become a dominant regional and a global leader in the development, administration and operation of efficient and profitable customer-oriented port services.

The RTGs were supplied by KCI Konecranes VLC Corporation, a Finland-based firm.