ABP is to follow up delivery of the world’s largest hydraulic crane at Immingham with almost £30 million more investment in equipment on the Humber.
The five year plan has been revealed as the Mantsinen 300M is eagerly awaited at the UK’s largest port.
Environmental improvements form a large part of the strategy, while improving efficiency of vessel discharges.
Read more: ABP's 4.25 million sq ft Humber International Enterprise Park gains formal planning consent
Half of the money to be spent on the container terminals that straddle the estuary.
Simon Bird, ABP’s regional director for the Humber, said: “This significant investment shows the confidence we have to continue to grow and invest to ensure the Humber ports are future-proofed when it comes to the latest technology in cranes and cargo handling equipment.
“Our strategy is about ensuring we have a versatile mix of cranes to cargo mix and that we can provide additional capacity to meet growing volumes of cargo. As a port operator we remain resilient and give our customers what they need, and they want to know what we have is reliable and efficient.”
The spend includes further new equipment, in addition to the £3 million Mantsinen and the four Konecranes reach stackers, brought in recently, as well as full refurbishment of existing cranes.
Those being refurbished include the Butterley cranes built in the Nineties for the width of the locks in the ports of Immingham and Hull.
The pandemic delayed the rollout of the strategy, but now orders are being placed and equipment is arriving. More mobile harbour cranes and material handlers, including more reach stackers and forklifts are part of that, with options open on further future needs.
ABP said it will engage with the port community to ensure cranes are fit for purpose, with bulks, break bulks and project cago all catered for.
Stocking of spare parts will also be increased to bolster port resilience.
It comes as a team of operatives and engineers from Immingham visited the Mantsinen factory in Finland last month to check on its build progress. It also gave them an opportunity to use a simulator to understand how it handles.
Do you follow BusinessLive Humber on LinkedIn and Twitter? Click and engage to ensure you stay updated
