New cranes arrive at Felixstowe terminal

The cranes were built in Shanghai and are biggest of their type in the world

A new deep-water container terminal at a port in Suffolk has taken delivery of three ship-to-shore gantry cranes.

The cranes, built in China, are the biggest of their type in the world and will be able to handle huge ships that have 24 container-wide decks.

The new terminal, Felixstowe South, is one of only a small number of committed deep-water container terminals under construction in the UK.

It begins taking trial ships later this year and will officially open in 2011.

Major trade routes

David Gledhill, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said: "With the first of the quayside cranes on site, Felixstowe South is quickly becoming a reality.

"It was only a few years ago that we saw the first ship capable of carrying 10,000 containers enter service, but within the next few years there will be over a hundred of these massive ships on the major trade routes.

"It is essential for UK shippers and receivers that we have the facilities to accommodate these mega-ships and Felixstowe South gives us that."

Each crane weighs approximately 2,000 tonnes and is capable of lifting two containers simultaneously, weighing up to a total of 70 tonnes.