Container capacity at the Port of Mobile, Alabama is increasing to 475,000 teu with the addition of two post-Panamax gantry cranes.
APM Terminals (APMT) announced on 16 June that in addition to the new cranes, it is expanding the container yard by 8 ha (20 acres) as part of a USD40 million infrastructure investment to expand the terminal’s capacity in response to growing demand in the US Southeast.
The two cranes currently at Mobile allow APMT to handle vessels of up to 8,400 teu at a draught of 13.7 m (45 ft). Adding two more cranes will allow APMT to work more vessels that are expected at Mobile after the Panama Canal’s new, wider locks are completed in 1Q 2016.
The Alabama State Port Authority, which oversees Mobile, is building an intermodal container transfer facility at the port, scheduled to open in early 2016, that will connect APMT’s facility with rail services to major markets in the US Southeast and Midwest. Mobile is served by five major US railroads.
Mobile is also in the early stages of plans to deepen the harbour draught to 15.2 m (50 ft), which would allow the port to handle fully-loaded containerships of up 12,600 teu or more.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
