Demag Cranes has delivered its first mobile harbour cranes to Papua New Guinea after receiving an order for four Gottwald G HMK 6407 Model 6 cranes from PNG Ports Corporation.

Once all four cranes are delivered to two of the island state’s main cargo ports, the Port of Lae and Port Moresby Port, the cranes will be used to handle containers, general cargo and bulk materials.

Two of the cranes have already been delivered this year, after being fitted with 24m3 motor grabs for their current role unloading imported grain and containers, while the remainder are expected to arrive early next year equipped with spreaders.

According to Demag Cranes, the new purchase for PNG Ports Corporation not only expands Demag’s presences in the Indo-Australian region, but is also vital for developing the world’s third largest island state’s maritime trade and domestic industries.

Currently the ports handle the majority of food imports for Papua New Guinea, along with the lion’s share of the country’s raw material exports.

PNG Ports Corporation CEO, Brian Riches, commented: “The four new Gottwald Mobile Harbour Cranes are a milestone in our history and of crucial importance to us. This high-performance, reliable technology will assist us to fulfil and expand our role as the main regional hub for maritime cargo handling and raw materials export.”

Demag Cranes claims that this is the first time ports in Papua New Guinea have had access to such cutting-edge technology.

The G HMK 6407 mobile harbour cranes provided feature lifting capacities of up to 125t, working radii up to 51m and hoisting speeds of up to 120m per minute.

They also feature Demag’s Teleservice support feature, which allows the customer, or Demag technicians, remote access to diagnostic and production data from the crane while it is in operation.

When the cranes are not in use, a remote desktop tool allows users remote access to each crane for testing, performing maintenance tasks and correcting malfunctions in crane operation around the clock.

Gottwald’s regional director for the Asia-Pacific region, Klaus Röhrig, said: “This order could only be secured with the constant assistance of the Queensland office of our Australia Representative, Clark Equipment, and is another step towards consolidating and expanding our position in this region, which is the interface between Asia and Australia.”

Demag secures first harbour crane order from Papua New Guinea