Vladivostok port receives four container cranes

The Russian Port of Vladivostok said Wednesday it has received new cargo handling equipment for the first time in 25 years.

The new equipment includes two 50-ton capacity ship-to-shore cranes and two 45-ton capacity rail-mounted gantry cranes.

This event is extremely important and significant since it has marked the beginning of the wide-scale modernization of the port in relation to the container business. Over the last year, preparatory works have been in the process of getting the berth ready to receive the new equipment, said Vyacheslav Pertsev, general director of Vladivostok Commercial Seaport Co., in a statement. We expect this equipment will be put into operation in one-and-a-half months and we will initiate the second phase of the new container terminal construction, berth 14, next year. Pertsev added the port projecting volumes of 250,000 TEUs in 2008, with the number expected to rise to 650,000 TEUs by 2010.