Schelde-Natie’s new E-Crane® successfully unloads Panamax rapeseed cargo

A common question is “does size matter?”. For Schelde-Natie in the port of Antwerp in Belgium, the answer is now “no”. Schelde-Natie can now offer efficient and immediate high-quality unloading of rapeseed using its new E-Crane®. The first Panamax vessel to be unloaded using the new crane arrived on 8 October last year. Unloading the Cargo gave the 1000- series E-Crane® a full workout.

With an outreach of only 32 metres, and limited space on the dock and only 200 metres of crane rails along the quay, E- Crane engineers had to work closely with Schelde-Natie management to arrive at the optimum unloading solution, with the help of 3D-simulations.

All went smoothly unloading the giant vessel. Crane driver Stan started the 24/24 unloading operations at 0600hrs on Sunday. Service engineers from E-Crane were standby to assist if necessary. By noon that same Sunday the first 2,000 tonnes had been offloaded and it became clear that the plan had come together nicely. The combination of careful planning by Schelde-Natie management, the dedication of the dockside team leaders Chris and Luc, the excellent communication with the ports longshoremen and above all the skilled E-Crane® drivers Stan and Paul, all contributed to a job well done.

This complex exercise showed, once again, the versatility and potential of the E-Crane® concept.

Source: Dry Cargo International – January 2007 Issue