Yilport announced that its new container port in Gemlik (Turkey) will receive four Super Post-Panamax gantry cranes at the beginning of next year, a few months before starting operations.
Part of the Yildirim Group, Yilport already operates three ports in Turkey – Yilport Gebze (in Gebze), Gemport (in Gemlik), and Rotaport (in Yarımca) – as well as a port in Malta. It is developing a second port in Gemlik, which will be called Yilport Gemlik.
The Super Post-Panamax gantry cranes, manufactured by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (MES), have left Oita (Japan) and will take about 50 days to reach Gemlik (Turkey). Yilport explains that they are so large that the ship carrying them will need to navigate around the southern tip of Africa, instead of taking the Suez Canal shortcut.
“These new Mitsui-Paceco cranes will allow Yilport Gemlik and the entire Bursa region to compete at a new level for international and domestic cargos,” said Mehmet Yildirim, Board Member of Yildirim Group. “These cranes are incredible pieces of machinery, but they require highly trained people to operate and support them.”
Yilport has sent Turkish technicians to Japan for training and is using a crane simulator at Gemport to develop the skills of the local drivers.
The cranes are scheduled to arrive soon after the start of the New Year and Yilport Gemlik is expected to service its first container vessel in the first week of April 2014.
Four giant cranes for Yilport Gemlik
