Samba crane shows good loading rate

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 5

Samba crane shows good loading rate

The temporary Samba container crane at Lyttelton almost matched the speed of the wrecked portainer crane it replaced when it was worked for the first time, on Saturday. Strong winds stopped the crane from starting at 7 a.m. as planned. It was 3.30 p.m. before the wind fell sufficiently to allow work with the crane to start.

It loaded refrigerated and general cargo containers into the Aotea until 9 p.m., and continued working the ship yesterday morning. The manager of the container terminal, Mr Bill Siddall, said the crane averaged 18 containers an hour while working the Aotea.

“For the first job that is very satisfactory, especially considering the bad weather it had to contend with on Saturday,” he said. The portainer crane would have been expected to load 22 containers an hour under similar conditions, Mr Siddall said.

During the calm of Sunday morning, the Samba crane loaded about 30 containers an hour, the same rate expected from the portainer.

A hundred containers were unloaded from the Aotea and 105 loaded. The ship sailed for Wellington and Japan yesterday. Another four ships are expected to use the new

crane within the next few

days. The New Zealand Star is expected to arrive this morning and the Forum Samoa this afternoon. The Australia Trader is expected at the terminal tomorrow, and the ACT 1 may arrive on Wednesday. The Samba, leased from a British firm, Sea Containers, Ltd., took about two months to assemble at Lyttelton. Parts of the portainer crane which was wrecked in February have begun to arrive back at Lyttelton after repair. It is hoped to have the crane assembled next month and back in use by the end of the year.