The Dutch heavy load specialist Mammoet has completed the installation of two Liebherr container gantry cranes in the Spanish port of Valencia.
The STS (ship-to-shore) cranes had previously been delivered in pre-assembled modules from the Irish port of Fenit in order to minimize disruption to ongoing operations at the container terminal.
The largest components included the 69.6 m long main girder and the 76.3 m long derrick boom. After being unloaded by ship crane, they were moved to the construction site using 90 self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs).
Mammoet used crawler cranes with a lifting capacity of 600 tons each, all-terrain cranes with capacities of 80 to 250 tons, working platforms and forklift trucks, among other things, to assemble the cranes. The mechanical and electrical connection of the components was carried out in collaboration with local engineering teams and subcontractors. Once assembly was complete, the STS cranes were moved around 600 m on SPMTs to their final location on the quay.
“As soon as the components were delivered, we immediately removed them from the quay so that operations could continue undisturbed. The subsequent assembly also went quickly and with minimal disruption,” explains Mammoet Sales Manager Javier de Pablo Arenzana.
The port of Valencia (Puerto de Valencia) is one of the most important and largest seaports in the Mediterranean region, as well as the second largest container port in Spain and the fifth largest in Europe. The modern port area is located around seven kilometers southeast of the historic city center of Valencia and is divided into various areas for container handling, ferry and passenger traffic, cruise ships and marinas.
In 2024, a total of around 43.26 million tons of goods were handled in Valencia in the first seven months, which corresponds to an increase of around 8.7 % compared to the same period in the previous year (2023). The handling of boxes amounted to around 3.14 million TEU (standard containers, +13.1 %) up to and including July 2024.
