HHLA TK Estonia, a subsidiary of the leading European logistics group HHLA, will deploy two large container cranes in Muuga as part of its largest investment effort in the past decade. As the result it will be able to provide services to the largest post-Panamax vessels sailing in the Baltic Sea that can accommodate four times more containers than the ships able to dock in Muuga at the moment.
On Tuesday the cranes were sent to Estonia by sea from the German port of Hamburg and will arrive in Muuga in mid-July.
“With the investment of five million euros, our three existing container cranes will be supplemented by two new ones, capable of handling 21 rows each and being the largest in the region. This will make it more attractive and cost-effective for global shipping companies to visit Muuga, and the importance of Estonia as a key multimodal logistics hub will increase,” said Riia Sillave, chairman of the management board of HHLA TK Estonia.
According to Sillave, the ability to provide services not only to Panamax-class vessels, but also to post-Panamax container ships, will increase the total handling capacity of the Muuga container terminal almost fourfold.
“Today we can provide services to vessels with a capacity of up to 3,500 TEU (sea container units), while the new STS cranes will allow the port of Muuga to welcome vessels with a capacity of up to 14,000 TEU. At the moment the territory of our terminal already has sufficient throughput to keep pace with the growth of cargo turnover,” Riia Sillave said.
According to Philip Sweens, CEO of HHLA International, the parent company of HHLA TK Estonia, the investments are necessary for the further growth of the Muuga multimodal terminal.
“The strength of the port of Muuga is its central location as a north-south and east-west transshipment hub. The ability to serve the largest cargo vessels operating in the Baltic Sea opens the possibility to use the full potential of the Muuga terminal to handle existing and future cargo flows,” said Philip Sweens.
The STS (ship-to-shore) cranes to be deployed in Muuga are transported to Estonia from Hamburg, where they were used in CTB terminal, a sister company of HHLA TK Estonia. The cranes with a lifting capacity of 70 tons, a height of 73 meters and a lifting height of 50 meters will arrive in Estonia in mid-July and will commence work at the 17th berth of the port of Muuga in the autumn.
In the port of Muuga HHLA TK Estonia operates the leading multimodal cargo terminal of the entire Baltic Sea region. The terminal provides services to container ships, RoRo vessels, general and bulk cargo ships, as well as handles the transshipment of goods transported by road and rail. The capacity of the container terminal is 600,000 TEU per year, plus 2.4 million tons of general and bulk cargo. The terminal can receive up to 16 RoRo vessels per day.
HHLA TK Estonia is a part of the leading European logistics group Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) that operates container terminals in Hamburg, Odessa, Trieste and Muuga, as well as runs logistics interconnections and intermodal centers in many regions of Central and Eastern Europe.
****
Further information:
Riia Sillave
email: tk@tk.ee
CEO
HHLA TK Estonia AS
Important information