Dover Cargo Terminal has secured a third liner service for 2006 with a new weekly service from Central America.
The new service, operated by Seatrade Reefers of Antwerp, arrives every Tuesday with bananas from Colombia and bananas, pineapples and seasonal fruits from Costa Rica.
“One of the key factors in winning this business is the port’s decision to invest over £2 million in two new cranes,” said Kate O’Hara, head of commercial & marketing at the Port of Dover.
The first Gottwald HMK 170E crane entered service in May 2005 and has capacity to lift containers over the breadth of a vessel. A second Gottwald HMK 90E is now being commissioned. Together the two cranes will further improve discharge rates at the terminal, the port claimed.
Dover Cargo Terminal handled approximately 200,000 pallets of cargo in 2005 and is expecting a record 2006 with significant growth.
The other two liner services at Dover are operated by Del Monte with vessel arrivals every Monday from Cameroon with bananas and Thursday from Costa Rica with bananas, pineapples and seasonal fruits.
