Konecranes has awarded cable manufacturer and supplier Tratos the contract to supply medium voltage rubber insulated and sheathed drum reeling cables for its Automated Stacking Cranes (ASC), to be used at the new Muelle Prat container terminal in Spain.
Following the takeover of the Muelle Prat container terminal from the Barcelona Port Authority, Terminal Catalunya S.A (TERCAT) – a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group – has started construction of a new 1,000-metre-long quay featuring 18 container stacking blocks with 36 one-over-five ASCs.
The ASCs will be supplied by KoneCranes with Tratosflex cable, which has been specifically designed for high speed reeling. Tratosflex features a unique internal cable design, with the structure tightened against the internal relative movement. This prevents the cable from twisting and leading to possible breakage – extremely dangerous when reeling at speeds up to 300m/m. As a result of this sophisticated, reliable design, Konecranes now regularly specifies Tratosflex cable for its ASCs worldwide.
The first Muelle Prat berth is expected to commence commercial operations in late 2011/early 2012 after a short period of testing and commissioning of the container handling equipment and the terminal operating system. It is expected to have an annual handling capacity of 1.5 million TEU.
