86 new ASCS for the

Port of Virginia's expansion project

BigLift Shipping is grateful and proud to have been a part of the Port of Virginia’s expansion project. Over the course of the last two years, BigLift delivered 86 Konecranes automated stacking cranes (ASCS) to the port. As of now, 26 new cranes are in place at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and 60 at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).

14 voyages in 1.5 years

Between 2018 and last May, BigLift executed 14 voyages from Gdynia, PL, to the Port of Virginia, USA. Our grand old lady mv Happy Buccaneer transported the majority of the cranes – 62 pieces in 10 shipments. She crossed the Atlantic ocean eight times carrying six ASCS, and twice she even carried seven cranes.

The remaining 24 cranes were transported by mv Happy Sky – which executed three voyages of six cranes each – and mv Parkgracht. Mv Happy Buccaneer safely discharged the last six cranes in the second half of May.

Facts & Figures

The ASCS weigh 185 mt and measure 31.3 * 15.85 * 25.5 metres. Eighty-two of them were lifted on and off board by a tandem lift of the ship’s cranes and four of them were loaded and discharged by a single lift. Single lifts were required for one of the seven ASCS on mv Happy Buccaneer and for two cranes on the shipment handled by mv Parkgracht. The choice for a single lift was due to the stowing position of the cranes in these three shipments.

Port of Virginia's expansion

The port’s terminal capacity expansion project will be complete this autumn.

With all of the cranes in place and operational, the port will have the capacity to process an additional one million containers – or 46% more — annually: 600,000 additional units at VIG and 400,000 at NIT.