A Melbourne port operator has announced the deployment of four new hybrid automatic container carriers (ACCs).
Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), the fully automated operations at the Port of Melbourne for International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), has officially started operating the four new Kalmar ACCs following their successful commissioning and operational integration over the past several weeks.
Kalmar executives attended the handover ceremony on May 26, including Sami Niiranen, president and chief executive officer, alongside VICT management and operations personnel.
The new ACCs form part of VICT’s expansion program aimed at increasing annual capacity to over 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) while supporting more efficient and sustainable terminal operations.
“These new ACCs strengthen our landside capabilities while supporting our long-term sustainability goals,” VICT CEO Bruno Porchietto says.
“This investment reflects our commitment to expanding terminal capacity, improving efficiency and adopting technologies that lessen the environmental impact of our operations. We appreciate the successful partnership with Kalmar, which has enabled us to set a high standard of port operations in Australia.”
Kalmar head of global sales Karri Keskinen says the project builds on Kalmar’s “long and successful history” of cooperating with VICT.
“The new ACCs will help to increase productivity and support the terminal to meet their customers’ needs in a reliable way,” Keskinen says.
The ACCs were designed to increase productivity by minimising loading times, with VICT and Kalmar working together on several custom upgrades targeting improved levels of efficiency.
The hybrid ACCs feature twin-box lifting capability of up to 60 tonnes and are equipped with lithium-ion battery systems that enable energy recovery during operations, which translate to a 40 per cent increase in energy efficiency and up to a 50-tonne reduction in carbon emissions per unit annually.
It continues the partnership between Kalmar and the only fully automated container terminal in the southern hemisphere, with Kalmar having supported VICT since the start of its terminal operations in 2017.