Porto Itapoá is the first port in Brazil to have a gondola-type cage

This equipment ensures containers can be loaded and unloaded more safely and efficiently

Porto Itapoá will be the first port terminal in Brazil to have a gondola-type lashing and unlashing cage. The equipment is fastened to the container cranes to ensure the safety of the operations assistants, who are the workers responsible for unlocking or locking containers on board.

As well as improving safety, the cage will maximize operating efficiency by up to 40%, and ensure our operations are even more efficient. For the operations manager of Porto Itapoá, Thiago Santos, this purchase demonstrates how the Terminal is constantly striving to improve its operations. “We know that safety and efficiency are directly connected, which is why we have invested in, not just equipment, but also in training our staff”, he commented.

Santos also revealed that he has a personal interest in the new equipment. “When I began my career in the port sector, it was precisely this role, operations assistant, so I appreciate the issues that these workers have when on board and how important this investment is for them”.

The equipment, made by the Spanish company, Tec Container, who are represented in Brazil by Rimac, weighs six tons and is technically referred to as a Lashing Cage. It consists of two lateral platforms, where the workers stand. The cage can be opened up from 23 to 45 feet, which is equal to 7.5 m to 15 m. It can hold up to two workers on each side of the Gondola (500kg capacity) and ensures that their work is easier and safer.

Investment in Infrastructure
In April 2022, Porto Itapoá purchased two new Reach Stacker forklifts to be used in the yard of the Terminal. The aim is to improve the service between the ship and the yard, and complement operations that use the RTG, a mobile crane that is used within ports to move and stack containers.

The Kalmar-brand equipment can lift 45 tons on the spreaders (the device attached to the machine to lift the containers) and there are several electronic safeguards for the operator. The port already has three similar machines.

They have also purchased another five RTGs, rubber-tired gantry cranes, to move containers in the yard. The Terminal already has 17 of these of the ZPMC make, but the new ones will be operated remotely. Porto Itapoá will be the first port in the country with this system. The machines are due to be delivered in January 2023.

Another important purchase is nine new Terminal Tractors (TTs), which are due to arrive in July, as well as nine buggies, trailers for the TTs, which have already been received. The vehicles will form a 40-strong fleet of Rucker-made vehicles, which are able to carry 65 metric tons each, equal to two 20-foot containers.