German international shipping company, Hapag-Llyod, has announced a state-of-the-art transhipment terminal with an annual handling capacity of 3.3 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) is being built in Damietta, Egypt. This is a joint venture between; Hapag-Lloyd Damietta GmbH, with a 39% stake, as Eurogate Damietta GmbH and Contship Damietta Srl, each with a 29.5 % stake and two local partners.
The location is of great strategic importance. The new terminal will give Hapag-Lloyd the option to concentrate its transhipments business in Damietta and improve its competitive situation. One key advantage is the terminal’s location is roughly 60km from the northern outlet of the Suez Canal. As well as, the water depth at the new terminal is of 18 metres compared to the current 14 metres found at Terminal 1. This mean means that the new terminal will be able to handle ships of all sizes, including the 23,500+ TEU dual-fuel ships.
The terminal will be equipped with 50 state-of-the-art rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), half of which will be powered by electricity, as well as 16 ship-to-shore cranes (STSs).
Matthias Müller, senior director business administration region South Europe, Genoa, says: ‘We put a lot of thought into what the most suitable solution could be, as we naturally also had in mind Hapag-Lloyd’s and our customers’ demands for the greatest possible degree of sustainability.’
