Lyttelton, Port of Christchurch, has placed an order for the delivery of four straddle carriers. Liebherr Container Cranes secured the contract for its Liebherr SC350T, which will stack one over two high and are supplied with a 50t twin lift spreader.

The straddle carriers will join a pair of Liebherr ship to shore (STS) cranes at the port and will be linked to a remote container tracking system, providing real-time information on the position and handling rates of containers within the terminal, Liebherr stated.

The four straddle carriers are due for delivery mid-2013. The port announced an increase of 16.8 per cent in container throughput at the port to the end of June 2012.

This is the second order that Liebherr Container Cranes has secured for the delivery of straddle carriers to New Zealand in recent months. The Port of Tauranga has also placed an order for three Liebherr straddle carriers of similar configuration to the Lyttelton machines. In both cases the orders followed detailed evaluations by port engineers and drivers during site visits to existing terminals using Liebherr machines.

New Zealand port orders four straddle carries