26.09.2007

New harbour crane for Ellesmere Port

Freight and shipping specialist Quality Freight (UK) has invested £1 million in buying a Liebherr LMH 150 mobile harbour crane for its operations at Ellesmere Port.

The crane which has a 40 tonne lift capacity and 32 metre radius will enable the facility to handle up to 700 tonnes of cargo an hour compared to the current 300 tonnes.

Peel Ports, which owns the docks, is spending more than £100,000 strengthening the quayside in advance of the arrival of the crane at the start of October.

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A Liebherr LHM 150 harour crane

Sebastian Gardiner, managing director of Quality Freight (UK), said: “We have grown as a business significantly during the past year, but this investment allows us to move to the next level.
There is greater pressure than ever before in getting ships turned around as quickly as possible. The Liebherr 150 can handle bulk cargo, pallets and containers and has a lifting capacity much greater than is currently the case.
Most of our shipping traffic is from European countries and the Mediterranean but we would like to attract more business from China and other parts of the Far East.
“There is no reason why this shouldn’t happen – Ellesmere Port Docks can handle vessels of up to 20,000 tonnes.