POINT BLANCHE, St. Maarten – Port St. Maarten – On Thursday afternoon, one of Port St. Maarten’s Gottwald cranes, a 14-year old HMK 260E, was loaded onboard the Cargo Vessel BBC Congo for a six-day voyage to Mexico.
Port St. Maarten has acquired a new Terex Gottwald Model 6 Crane after RBC Bank signed up to supply the loan for the acquisition. The new crane is tentatively set to arrive in September, and in the meantime cargo operations will continue as the port has another Gottwald crane.
The involvement of RBC Bank once again demonstrates the continued trust and commitment of the financial institution with respect to Port St. Maarten in continuing to nurture and foster their business relationship with the port, but also to be a continuous partner in the development of the country.
As part of the acquisition of the new Gottwald Model 6 crane, Port St. Maarten was also able to find a suitable buyer for the older Terex Gottwald HMK 260E, also known as Crane 1.
The acquisition of the Terex Gottwald Model 6 Mobile Harbour Crane and the additional Bromma spreaders will in no doubt bolster Port St. Maarten’s position and continue to expand its cargo related activities and foot print within the North Eastern Caribbean region.
As a result of this new development whereby initial discussions started some years ago, Port St. Maarten has recently concluded all ground work and due diligence in acquiring and trading in their older version Model 4 Gottwald Crane for a newer Model 6 crane with an outreach of 15 across and load capacities of 125t, to be able to properly accommodate and continue to grow its foot print within the north eastern Caribbean region.
The Terex Gottwald Model 6 harbour crane is high performance for higher handling rates, and is part of the large crane family from Terex Port Solutions. The crane can be used on ships up to post-Panamax and Capesize Bulker class.
The Model 6 crane is equipped with the technical and ergonomic functions and features required to improve productivity, environmental compatibility and facilitate operation to boost economical and sustainable cargo handling in ports and terminals. Port St. Maarten crane staff is already trained in using this model of crane.
Over the years Port St. Maarten has invested significantly in Cargo, where infrastructure, dredging, and upgrading of Cranes are concerned; training of staff leading to six local certified operators and supervisors.
With increasing cargo volumes especially related to transshipment where enormous growth opportunity exist, brings about a good feeling for port officials.
Port St. Maarten cargo facility investments have led to a steady growth in containerized business making the island a regional sub-hub for the North Eastern Caribbean.
Port St. Maarten serves the islands of Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Antigua & Barbuda. The port is also in the process of developing a special relationship with the Caribbean Netherlands islands of Saba and St. Eustatius with respect to port handling, operations, economic development and sustainability. Both islands receive their cargo shipments/services from Port St. Maarten.
PHOTO CUTLINE: L to R: Minerva Alvarez, Port St. Maarten Finance Manager; Richard van der Mark, Port St. Maarten Cost & Quality; Raquel Lo Fo Wong, RBC Team Lead Business Banking St. Maarten & Saba; Mark Mingo, Chief Executive Officer Port St. Maarten; Roger Lawrence, Port St. Maarten Terminal and Cargo Operations Manager.
