HATCH COVERS SUPPORT FOR STS CRANES - TOC Asia
Transcript of HATCH COVERS SUPPORT FOR STS CRANES - TOC Asia
ALWAYS A NEED
Container carrier vessels do not have the possibility to leave
their hatch covers on board .
The hatch cover must be handled with STS cranes and placed
on the quay .
Most ports have their own methods and dispositions to place
the hatch cover while the cargo containers are transferred
from and into the hold of the ship.
Everyone who works in ports knows that these areas are
valuable and expensive, since they are necessary for the
traffic of port trucks, especially in the back reach, which is
usually used for the temporary storage of containers.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
GB Port Innovation has developed a device to hold theHatch Cover safely on board the STS crane. It is a simplesolution to release quay areas used to stack the hatchcovers of the ships.
The device consists of either a platform steel structure, or aspecial support, attached to the STS crane structure. Thehatch covers are stacked on it, using the crane spreader inthe same way the crane operator currently handles thehatch covers.
The Hatch Cover Support will be designed according to the size of the container ship.
Depending on the terminal configuration, there are
various options where the Hatch Cover Support
device can be located: a) between the legs.
Also, the hatch cover support device can be located at
different heights, all depends on the operative
considerations in each container terminal and the
possibility given by the crane steel structure.
The hatch cover support device can be designed and
implemented either in new STS projects, or in existing
STS cranes in the full range of worldwide STS crane
manufacturers.
Depending on the operation needs, the Hatch Cover Support can be a platform steel structure (5), or a support device (6).
5 6
The advantage of the small support alternative is that
when no hatch covers are deposited on the supports, a
container can be handled between both opposite supports
when being transferred from or to the ship.
The “Continuous Support”, can be installed in any
position, from the front of the crane to its back part.
So when the operation is planned, it is possible to
select the position that the Hatch Cover will have in
each of the cranes that will participate in the
operation.
With the “Continuous Support”, it is possible to
alternate the position where the hatch cover is placed.
In this case, the cranes keep the space between their
legs, which allows them to pass containers through.
BENEFITS OF ITS USE
If the system is implemented when planning a new containerterminal, construction costs can be reduced.
If it is used in a existing port terminal, the container terminalcan recover an area which can be used for container storage, fortraffic of port trucks or to improve the layout of the yardequipment and stacking blocks.
Storage capacity can be increased to about 5 containers in depth,6 containers in height, and the complete quay length and couldincrease the load mobilized in the same proportion.
In the case of a finger pier, the hatch cover platforms can beplaced in cantilever over the water. Civil works and theconstruction budget for the terminal can therefore be improved.
OPERATIONAL AND ECONOMICAL BENEFITS
Regarding operational advantages, on a finger pier the
full area of the dock space can be recovered. This area
would by unusable if vessel hatch covers were placed
there.
Regarding investments, on a finger pier or an island pier,
the area needed in the back can be reduced with the
consequent cost reduction.