New Crane Arrives at Lyttelton Port of Christchurch

Infrastructure expansion at Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) has reached another milestone with the arrival of their fourth ship to shore gantry crane.

The Liebherr crane, made in Ireland, arrived on general cargo ship, the Langeoog, and will be assembled on site at the Lyttelton Container Terminal.

Assembly is expected to take eight weeks and will be completed by Rich Rigging, a New Zealand subcontractor of Liebherr.

The new crane, with a heavy lift hook capacity of 80 tonnes and outreach of 40 metres, is expected to have an immediate impact on productivity.

LPC Chief Executive, Peter Davie, said the new crane highlights the port’s commitment to facilitate trade across the South Island.

“This is another major investment in port infrastructure and will increase crane intensity and significantly boost the efficiency of our container operations,” said Davie.

“The new crane has been purchased in response to continued strong growth.

“Once commissioned we will be in a stronger position to fully service a second container berth, work off schedule vessels and accommodate service growth.

“This is a huge advantage for our customers and the businesses they support.”

The latest investment brings the total number of cranes to four and is part of a $26 million investment in infrastructure which includes seven forklifts and eight new diesel electric Liebherr straddles.

The new crane is expected to be in operation in mid-July 2014.

-Ends-

© Scoop Media