Gottwald Port Technology GmbHPostfach18 03 43 • 40570 Düsseldorf, GermanyPhone: +49 211 7102-0 • Fax: +49 211 7102-3651info@gottwald.com • www.gottwald.com

Gottwald Floating Cranes New Approach for Ship-to-Ship Transloading,

Mid-Stream and Ship-to-Quay Handling

Floating Cranes

Riding a waveof success

The Mississippi, mother of all rivers. In 1884, Mark Twainset Huckleberry Finn afloat on a raft and sent him downriver on an adventure. One hundred and twenty yearslater, on this same river, Gottwald has set its provenmobile harbour crane technology afloat on a barge. Andit is now riding on a first wave of success with thisconcept.

With the floating crane, developed together with acustomer on the Mississippi in Louisiana and launchedonto the market in 2004, Gottwald has once againdemonstrated that it is living up to its reputation as aninnovator in crane technology. Having introduced themobile harbour crane, mounted on a rubber-tyredchassis, to the market 50 years ago, Gottwaldinnovatively combined this proven technology — used todate in over 1,000 cranes — with rail-mounted portalsto create the portal harbour crane at the end of the1990s. The development at that time also occurred inclose co-operation with a customer, which is also locatedon the banks of the Mississippi in Louisiana.

With the entry of the Gottwald floating crane,Gottwald now makes its proven technology available onwater as a harbour pontoon crane or a portal harbour

This G HPK8200 B harbourpontoon crane isseen handling coalat RietlandenStevedores’terminal in thePort ofAmsterdam.

crane, mounted on a barge, permitting cargo handlingmid-stream free of the bounds of quay structures. Andthe latest of the Gottwald harbour cranes is not onlyimpressive in transloading cargo on rivers and in mid-stream. Since the market launch in 2004, Gottwald hascommissioned or taken orders for seven floating cranes,used in various waters and also on the quay. Theseinclude three HPK 330 EG harbour pontoon cranes onthe Mississippi (USA), two HSK 330 EG portal harbourcranes on barges in South Carolina (USA) and two newGeneration 5 G HPK 8200 B harbour pontoon cranes,one in the port area of Amsterdam (Netherlands) andone for use in the coastal waters of South-East Asiarespectively. All cranes are intended for professional bulkhandling and thus designed in the Gottwald four-rope-grab variant that has proven itself time and again.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Developments and successes which, as far as Gottwald isconcerned, have not occurred by chance. “It has alwaysbeen part of our strategy to develop new markets andapplications,” states Giuseppe Di Lisa, sales director atGottwald. “We continuously analyze the global flow of

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Gottwaldfloatingcranesprove

popular forbulk

handling

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goods. It is a question of preparing ourselves in time toaccommodate the developments on the world market.Our floating cranes are a response to the forecasts.”

On the world’s oceans, more and more cargo is beingtransported on ever larger ships. For the coming years,growth of around 9% a year is anticipated in containerhandling alone. In the field of bulk handling, importantmarkets such as coal are also growing.

However, in many cases it is already no longerpossible to handle the increasing cargo volume with theport and terminal structures as they are today. Quayshave reached their limit in space; berths can no longeraccommodate the growing size of ships. Bottlenecks inship traffic occur and the handling performancedemanded by the customer cannot always be achieved.No one can afford to not meet the new demands. Portsthat wish to stay in competition must respond anddevelop additional capacities. However, investment in theappropriate infrastructure is a major financial obligationfor many operators. Additionally, solutions that enable aflexible response to fluctuations and marketdevelopments are in demand.

AUTONOMY IN CARGO HANDLING

Put in this context, floating cranes become ever moreattractive. They are so much more than the necessaryequipment for transloading cargo on water wherehandling is not possible in any other way. Thanks to theirautonomy, low specific investment costs and shortdelivery lead times, floating cranes offer many advantages.High investment costs for site purchase and quayconstruction, as well as long approval procedures andconstruction times, can be avoided with the purchase ofa floating crane.

In addition, floating cranes can also back up landsidecranes in order to ease peak times. And in shallow-draught berths, a floating crane can be positionedbetween the ship and the quay to bridge the shallowpoint. It takes on the role of a mobile harbour craneand performs quayside handling. It is thus unnecessaryto perform costly modifications to the infrastructure.Therefore, this is also an ideal solution for ports stillunder construction.

GOTTWALD FLOATING CRANES

Yet floating cranes themselves are not a new inventionand the potential advantages do not bring any benefits ifthe cranes do not satisfy all the requirements of anoperator. “It is not just a question of recognizing newmarkets, but also having the far-reaching vision todevelop and build on these to the advantage of thecustomer,” says Di Lisa. Only modern, high-performanceequipment gains a competitive edge. And this is wherethe Gottwald concept, which is oriented towards theindividual requirements of the operators, comes in.

Gottwald harbour crane technology, proven 1,000times over around the world, and many decades ofexperience in design and production, having earned ahigh level of customer satisfaction thanks to excellentperformance in the field, provide the right ingredients forthis leading-edge technology. The Gottwald-typicaldiesel-electric drive technology can be mentioned hereas example, or the four-rope-grab crane for professionalbulk handling, over170 of which have been sold. At thebeginning of 2006, a further advance was brought by thenew harbour cranes of Generation 5 which includemobile harbour, portal harbour and harbour pontooncranes. With an unprecedented range of versatilevariants, high level of service-friendliness, high liftingcapacities, tailored drive performances and hoistingspeeds, the new harbour crane generation continues tomaintain the excellent reputation already gained by theHPK and HSK models on barge with the new G HPKand G HSK models on barge. The new generation ofharbour cranes also boasts many innovative features, e.g.remote control, the Visumatic crane management system,a highly positioned tower cab or the video system thatsupplies images from the boom head to the monitor inthe tower cab.

THE BARGE

For the best possible solutions with floating cranes,Gottwald combines its own crane know-how with theknow-how of third-party professional bargemanufacturers. The customer can choose to order anew barge or to convert an existing one. If required,Gottwald works as a general contractor. The size and

Gottwald floating cranes combine mobile harbourcrane technology with a barge and can bedesigned as: � harbour pontoon cranes: the crane is on a

pedestal mounted on an individually designed barge.

� portal harbour cranes on a barge: the crane is mounted and travels on an individually designed barge. The various solutions are developed to meet

the requirements of the respective fields ofapplication.

From the slew ring upwards, all Gottwaldfloating cranes have the same assemblies as

Gottwald mobile harbour cranes. The barge isspecially adapted to comply with customerrequests. Floating cranes can be designed in allavailable variants, naturally also as a four-rope-grabcrane for professional bulk handling.

Due to the high lateral forces created byoperation on water, floating cranes must bedesigned with heavy-duty booms to effectivelycounter heeling. Gottwald floating cranes are alsoclassified in appliance group A8 according toF.E.M. 1.001, and thus, in terms of their mechanicaland structural steel design, construction andcondition, they are designed for a high service lifeto meet the highest demands.

Gottwald floating cranes

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design of the barge can be adapted toown requirements. In addition to thecrane parameters, any furtherequipment and resources required bythe operator must be taken intoconsideration, e.g. the tank forpropelling the barge under its ownpower, winches, storage area for liftinggear, tools and other material and, ifnecessary, accommodation for the crew.

The barges of the harbour pontooncranes are usually fitted with a pedestalon which the crane is mounted.Gottwald normally only supplies thecrane from the slew ring upwards, butwill also manufacture the pedestal uponrequest. Portal harbour cranes onbarge are fitted with a rail-mountedportal manufactured by Gottwald.

ONE IDEA — MANY FIELDS OF

APPLICATION

Ultimately, Gottwald floating cranes —like all Generation 5 cranes — offersolutions tailored to customer needs.Operators receive a crane customizedprecisely to meet their requirementsbased on crane models manufacturedaccording to a uniform design principleand sharing many common parts,combined with a barge customizedprecisely to meet their needs. Thisconcept allows operators to use thesecranes for a variety of applications,ranging from transloading on rivers inmid-stream operation to cargo handlingin coastal waters, and from ship-to-shiptransloading to ship-to-quay handling. The seven cranescommissioned or ordered to date demonstrate thevariety of possible applications.

THREE HPK 330 EG HARBOUR PONTOON CRANES FOR

MID-STREAM OPERATION

At the third-largest port in the world, the Port ofLouisiana, Convent, USA, not far from New Orleans, atthe point where the Mississippi almost reaches the Gulfof Mexico, Gottwald has now commissioned or takenorders for three HPK 330 EG cranes for two majorcargo handling companies. Just very recently, St. JamesStevedoring Co., L.L.C. (St. James), with which Gottwalddeveloped the first floating crane in 2004, begancommercial operation with its second Gottwald HPK330 EG. The commissioning of a further HPK 330 EGfor the neighbouring Associated Terminals cargo-handlingoperation is planned for the end of November 2006.

The Port of Louisiana covers an area of approximately80km (50mi) and is an important trading hub for thesouthern states in the US. With the help of floatingcranes, cargo is transloaded from sea-going vessels tosmall river barges and vice versa. Day in, day out, theriver barges travel inland throughout the 22,500km(14,000-mi) river system to collect freight and transportit to its destinations. An important link in thisdistribution network is the floating cranes. Majorhandling operations such as St. James and AssociatedTerminals are extending and modernizing their fleetswith the new Gottwald cranes and regard them as a

Gottwald floating cranes are used for

� mid-stream ship-to-ship handling � ship-to-quay-handling (quay handling)� on rivers (in mid-stream operation)� in protected waters� in ports � in coastal waters

and are suitable for handling

� bulk� containers� general cargo

One idea — manyfields of application

In 2004,Gottwalddeveloped its firstHPK 330 EGfloating crane withSt. JamesStevedoring at thePort of Louisianain the US.St. James hasrecently put itssecond HPK 330EG intocommercialoperation.

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significant technological advancement for their cargo-handling business. The three Gottwald cranes designedas four-rope grab cranes handle many types of bulkincluding coal, in continuous handling operation underextreme conditions, achieving performance rates up to1,000tph (tonnes per hour), depending on conditions.

These three cranes also demonstrate how individual

the design of the barge can be. While the pontoon onthe first St. James’s crane has a size of 65m x 22m x 4.5m(213ft x 72ft x 15ft), the second St. James’ crane has alarger barge of 76m x 22m x 4.9m (250ft x 72ft x 16ft)with more storage area. In both cases, these are usedbarges that have been adapted. Associated Terminals isalso using a used barge, which is even larger, with a sizeof 82m x 22m x 4.5m (270ft x 72ft x 15ft).

FOR GREATEST POSSIBLE FLEXIBILITY – PORTAL

HARBOUR CRANES ON BARGES

Since June 2006, Shipyard River Terminal, a subsidiary ofKinder Morgan in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, hasbeen operating two Gottwald HSK 330 EG portalharbour cranes on barges. In the terminal on theCooper River on the East coast of the USA, coal ishandled for transport to local power plants.

With the portal harbour cranes on barges, Gottwaldwas able to meet the customer’s request for the greatestpossible flexibility. On the one hand, the twoHSK 330 EG cranes can travel on water thanks to theirbarges and transload coal mid-stream from large vesselsto small river barges for further transport. On the otherhand, the floating cranes can also dock at the pier, atwhich hoppers and a conveyer belt are installed, tofurther transport the coal over land. It is also possibleto moor the floating cranes to the quay to directlyunload the coal onto the quay.

If the two floating cranes are used on the pier, theyare moored alongside each other so that they can bothwork on a vessel at the same time. Since, in turn, it is

� irrespective of quays, they can be used everywhere in the port and on the water

� ports can serve more and larger sea-going vessels (transloading to lighters in shallow-water ports, quay-to-ship handling at shallow-water berths, cargo-handling as a back-up to landside-handling equipment)

� lower costs for quay infrastructures� low specific investment costs� with ship-to-ship handling relatively low

radius required � high classification in A8 as per F.E.M. for long

service life � short delivery lead times � high resale value

Highlights of Gottwald’sfloating cranes

Two HSK 330EG portal harbourcranes mounted ona barge, handlingcoal in Charleston,South Carolina,USA. So that thecrane remains in alevel position whiletravelling on thebarge, a specialrail structure wasdesigned.

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expected that each of the cranes also serves variousship’s hatches, portal harbour cranes that travel to andfro on barge were selected to meet requirements. Thetwo HSK 330 EG cranes have a track gauge of 13.4m(44ft). At 3.7m (12ft), the portal height is alsocomparatively low, thus ensuring a lowcentre of gravity.

To ensure that the crane remainsbalanced while travelling to and fro onthe barge, the rails were raised at thetwo ends of the barge. Thus, when thecrane travels to the end of the rail,causing the barge to be seated lower inthe water on one side, the cranenevertheless remains balanced.

Therefore the barge sits lower in thewater, but the crane remains balanced. Inthe centre of the barge, the rails arehorizontal. Toward the sides of thebarge, the rail height increases at aconstant rate over a length of 15.8m (51ft 9in). In thecentre of the barge, the lower edge of the rail has aheight of approximately 18cm (7in) above the deck,approximately 51cm (1ft 7in) at the end. As with allfloating cranes, this barge was supplied by a professionalmanufacturer. The design specified a barge with a size of72.5m x 19.5m x 3.6m (238ft x 64ft x 12ft).

The HSK 330 EG cranes, designed as four-rope-grabcranes, achieve handling rates of up to 1,100tphdepending on circumstances. In addition to theGottwald-typical diesel-electric drive, both cranes haveequipment for external power supply, so that they canuse energy from the shore mains supply at any timewhen they are docked on the pier or quay.

FIRST GENERATION 5 FLOATING CRANE —G HPK 8200 B IN THE PORT AREA OF AMSTERDAM

The first Generation 5 floating crane, a G HPK 8200 Bwith a 50-tonne grab curve, went into operation in July2006 in the Port of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Thisis also the first Gottwald floating crane in Europe. ThePort of Amsterdam is a significant coal transshipmentsite, mainly transloading imported coal destined forcentral European power plants. The crane operator,Rietlanden Stevedores, offers cargo handling services forcoal and scrap; however, approximately 90% of theservices relate to coal. Approximately 6 million tonnesare handled annually here at two terminals, in future, atthree terminals, and then in the whole port area. As partof the capacity expansion, the new G HPK 8200 B wasacquired to complement the floating crane fleet.Maximum flexibility was also demanded here, since atRietlanden, floating cranes assume 60% of all the work,both in direct transloading of cargo from sea-goingvessels to barges and in indirect handling via the terminal.

On the one hand, the crane located in the protectedwaters in front of the locks lightens large sea-goingvessels which, due to their draught, cannot enter into theNorth Sea Canal, and the harbour area. At this point, thefloating crane transloads coal onto barges that transportthe cargo to power stations along the Rhine. Thelightened vessels can then travel through the locks viathe North Sea Canal to the Port of Amsterdam. The

For rail-mountedportal harbourcranes operatingon a barge, therails are raised atthe two ends toensure the craneremains balanced.

G HPK 8200 B is just waiting for new fields ofapplication. On the one hand, the floating crane in theharbour basin can again transload coal from sea-goingvessels to barges. Alternatively, the crane can also moorat the quay in order to directly transfer cargo to the

shore. The barge has a size of 50m x 24.6m x

4m (164ft x 81ft x 13ft). It is equippedwith winch systems to allow the floatingcrane to be towed alongside a ship orriver barges to be towed alongside thecrane barge.

Like all Generation 5 cranes, theG HPK 8200 B also has a spaciousdouble-storey superstructure. Thanks tothe headroom of 2.5m (8.2ft) per floor,maintenance work can be performedstanding upright in the superstructure andall machines, drives and electricalequipment are easily accessible. The high

tower with higher and forward-positioned tower cabprovides a good view of sea-going vessels. The crane isalso equipped with three cameras and two monitors inthe tower cab. Two cameras on the boom head providea total picture of the ship and a focussed view of thegrab. There is also a radio-controlled camera installeddirectly on the hatch. This camera transmits a furtherimage onto the monitor in the tower cab via radio.

G HPK 8200 B IN COASTAL WATERS

A further G HPK 8200 B for professional cargo handlingis scheduled to go into operation in Southeast Asia inspring 2007. With this order, for the first time, aGottwald floating crane will be able to provide proof ofits suitability for coastal waters, where weatherconditions with windforces of up to 6 on the Beaufortscale and wave heights of up to 1.5m (4.9ft), can occur.This crane is also intended for coal handling.

FURTHER APPLICATIONS — CONTAINER HANDLING TOO

With these orders, Gottwald floating cranes, havingpassed the first practical tests in the field, are anattractive alternative to the landside crane in bulkhandling. This will not remain the only speciality ofGottwald floating cranes, and Gottwald emphasizescontainer handling as another potential field ofapplication. At peak times, for example, floating cranescan complement landside handling equipment and thusincrease capacities, which is particularly interesting inview of the growing size of container ships. Whileunloading takes place as usual on the landside, floatingcranes can be used additionally on the waterside to placecontainers on their own or on a separate barge in orderto then transport them to land, to store themtemporarily or to directly transport them further. Thefirst thoughts about different fields of applications revealthe multitude of possibilities opening up for floating cranes.

“Following the portal harbour crane, the developmentof harbour pontoon cranes and their specificmodifications illustrate once again the innovative powerof Gottwald, the capability of actively taking on customerrequests and implementing them in close co-operation incustomer-based solutions,” says Di Lisa. DCi

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