VOLUME 6 TRANSACTION ON TRANSPORT SCIENCES NUMBER 1 2013

Quay Cranes in Container Terminals

A. Bartošek*, O. Marek
Department of Logistic and Transportation Processes, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
* Corresponding author: xbartosek@fd.cvut.cz

DOI: 10.2478/v10158-012-0027-y

ABSTRACT: Container’s transport over the world plays a major logistics role
in the contemporary global economy. Seaports and their container terminals represent
an important function in the logistics chain. The transshipment speed of containers
in the container terminal is the significant factor participating in the overall transport time.
Quay cranes served as one of the essential elements of the trans-hipment containers
in the container terminal. This paper deals with quay cranes, comparing particular specific
crane´s components. Furthermore, the paper carries out an analysis of the optimal quay crane
productivity, with regard to contemporary requirements. At the end of the article requirements
for the future development of the quay cranes are submitted.

KEY WORDS: Container, quay crane, trolley, hoist, spreader.

1 INTRODUCTION

Loading and unloading operations with containers from/to container vessels are performed
in the quayside area by quay cranes (QCs). These cranes are found at container terminals,
a place where containers are handled from one of the transports (container vessel, feeder
vessel etc.) to the other (chassis, automated guided vehicle), and vice versa. QCs are also
known as ship-to-shore cranes and they are moved by rail tracks. The first QC (called
Portainer) dates back to 1959 and was built by Paceco Corporation. It was first used
in a marine terminal in Alameda. Since then, the size of QCs have more than doubled.
The first QC was designed to lift 23 t boxes 16 m over the rails with an outreach of 24 m.
The newest gigantic QCs are taller and heavier than any before, which means a height
of up to 75 m and a weight of up to 1,800 t (Super Post-Panamax). It also means that these
quay cranes, such as the ones shown in Figure 1 (Super Post-Panamax with Dual hoist tandem
40´, single trolley); lift 65 t boxes 42 m above the rails with an outreach of 65 m. Current
typical size characteristics QCs are shown in Table 1.

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Figure 1: Typical dimensions for the current quay crane.

Table 1: Quay cranes particulars* (Liebher, 2011).

Waterside outreach
Machinery (MT) or

Lifted load under

Rated load under
rope trolley (RT)

Main hoist - load

Crane weight (t)
cargo beams (t)

Trolley speed
Girder type

spreader (t)
Boom type

(m/min)

(m/min)
Port

(m)

Hamburg A-frame Single box MT 61 84 1,410 64 90 210

Los Low
Single box RT 61 100 1,723 62 75 240
Angeles profile
Savannah A-frame Twin box RT 65 100 1,369 61 90 180
Dubai A-frame Twin box RT 80 100 1,280 68 90 240
* The values in this table are approximate.

2 QUAY CRANES CLASSIFICATION

QCs are divided into the several categories. The first possible category is a classification
according to the size of container vessel, which is able to serve QC:

 Panamax QC - able to transship vessels with 11-13 containers wide (rows) or more
and with an outreach 30-40 m. These container vessels are capable of passing through
the Panama Canal;
 Post-Panamax QC - able to transship vessels with 17-19 containers wide or more
and with an outreach 45-55 m;
 Super Post-Panamax QC - able to transship vessels with 21-23 containers wide
and with an outreach 60-70 m.

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These QCs are further classified by the boom mechanization (see Figure 2):

 High profile (so called A-Frame) with tip-up boom above the water surface and prove
of vessel anchor (port of Rotterdam). This profile exhibits the lowest cost
and the lowest wheel loads;
 Low profile where the boom is able either to push forwards or to push in above vessel
deck (port of Boston). These QCs are suitable especially for their minimum height
near airports and for reduced visual impact. This profile exhibits higher costs
and higher wheel loads.

High profile QC (A-Frame) Low profile QC

Figure 2: High profile and low profile quay crane.

QCs can be powered by two types of power supplies:

 Alternating current (AC) - AC hoist motors have dedicated inverters where each motor
is controlled separately. QC equipped with an AC must be continuously hooked
up to an AC power supply or generator;
 Direct current (DC) - DC hoist motors are wired in a series where only one DC serves
to control the motors. QCs equipped with DC can be moved to any location
and can operate off a battery supply.

There are, of course, QCs equipped with both power supplies. For example, in the Buchardkai
container terminal (Hamburg) where the hoist and trolley have DC and gantry has AC
(Marek & Bartošek, 2011).

3 CRANE COMPONENTS

The loading and unloading operation of a container is described as a move. The QC spreader
is placed on the container, fixed by twistlocks, than lifted by a hoist, to unload it. The crane’s
trolley moves the container to the quay where the spreader is lowered and the container
is either put on the ground (wharf) or transport vehicle. The container is released by unlocking
the twistlocks and the spreader is hoisted again. The loading of a container uses the same
crane operations and vice versa (Meisel, 2009). Vessels can be equipped with cell guides
for easier positioning of containers within the hold.
Since the end of the 80s, hoist and trolley speeds have nearly doubled. Of course,
everything is affected by the development of motor dimensioning and drive systems. QCs
currently have normal hoisting speeds of 180 m/min (empty spreader) and 90 m/min (rated

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VOLUME 6 TRANSACTION ON TRANSPORT SCIENCES NUMBER 1 2013

load). Main trolley speed typically varies between 50m/min (Panamax) and 240 m/min (Super
Post-Panamax). Gantry speed is 70 m/min with an acceleration ramp time of four to eight
seconds (Kocks, 2011).
The QC trolley selection has to be based on the needs of a particular location, as well as
the crane structure and the wheel loads. The QC trolley can be rope towed or machinery type.
From the point of the structural design, weight is the main difference between these two types
of trolleys, as shown in Table 2. The rope towed trolley system has the trolley drive and main
hoist.

Table 2: Trolley comparison matrix (ZPMC, 2011).

Wheel loads (operating) -

Wheel loads (operating) -

Main hoist rope life (h)

Total rope length (m)

Trolley acceleration
Trolley weight (t)

Moving load (t)

Trolley motors
Average crane

waterside (t)
Trolley type

landside (t)
weight (t)

MT* 85 175 1,500 220 150 2-4 3,500 500 High

RT* 30 110 1,350 200 120 1-4 1,500 3,600 Average
* MT = Machinery trolley, RT = Rope trolley.

Boom hoist drums and machinery are placed in the machinery house, attached to the crane
frame. Trolley and main hoist ropes run from the machinery house to the end of the trolley
girder, through the trolley, and to the tip of the boom. This layout permits the trolley
to be shallow and lightweight, allowing a taller lift and smaller loads on the QC structure
and wharf. The rope trolley is common, rope driven is the lightest; if self driven, it is a little
heavier. It requires long ropes, catenary trolleys or continuous supports. A machinery trolley
has the trolley and main hoist machinery on board. Most of the machinery on the trolley
have machinery housings on the frame much smaller, containing only the boom hoist.
There are no necessary trolley drive ropes and the main hoist ropes are shorter than for a rope
towed trolley (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Machinery trolley/monogirder and rope trolley/twin girder (Kalmar, 2011).

Another current typical specification of QC is the so-called portal trolley. A single portal
trolley transships the containers between the vessel and the loading/unloading place
on the quay. On the other hand, QCs equipped with a double portal trolley are more common

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in recent years. This QC type features a second trolley that runs on the portal beams.
The main trolley (waterside) is controlled by the operator. QCs are sometimes operated
in a semi-automatic mode, operated by staff only during the actual set-down or pick-up
on the vessel.
The rest of the move is fully automatic (landside). It means transship container from
lashing (coning) platform to set-down or put on a transport vehicle (horizontal). The lashing
platform (buffer position) serves for two 40ʹ or 20ʹ containers. QCs equipped with a double
trolley can be used for a reduced dwell time. These QCs are used, for example, in Hamburg
Altenwerder terminal (Marek & Bartošek, 2011).

Single hoist crane Single hoist tandem crane Dual hoist tandem crane

Headblock Couplers
Main hoist ropes Main hoist ropes
Headblock 2 headblocks
Spreader 2 spreaders

Container 2 containers

Single hoist mode Dual hoist mode

Figure 4: Single hoist and dual hoist (Konecranes, 2012).

QCs can also feature a single or dual hoist, as shown Figure 4. Conventional QCs have
a single hoist with a single spreader for a rated load of up to 65 t. QC with a single hoist picks
up either a single 20ʹ, 40ʹ, 45ʹ or two 20ʹ (twin 20s), under a single spreader. To the contrary
dual hoist QC includes two hoisting systems on the main trolley and can handle either two
40ʹ or four 20ʹ for each lift (see Figure 5). There are also QCs equipped with a hoist
with a tandem. This could double productivity against the conventional single hoist. Tandem
means side by side, as opposed to end-to-end twin lifts. These dual hoist tandem QCs are used
currently, for example, in the port of Pusan.

Conventional arrangements Tandem arrangements

1 - 40´/45´ 2 - 20´ 2 - 40´/45´ 1 - 40´/45´, 2 - 20´ 4 - 20´

Figure 5: Container arrangements under spreader.

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The most significant differences between the dual hoist QCs and conventional single hoist
QCs are:

 Dual hoist QCs are heavier and have bigger wheel loads,
 Dual hoist QCs have larger trolleys, twice as many sheaves, and headblock stowage
accommodations,
 Dual hoist QCs have two main hoist systems, two headblocks and conventional
spreaders and sets of falls,
 Dual hoist QCs are equipped with ancillary devices to help the operator.

4 QUAY CRANE PRODUCTIVITY

Quay crane productivity is a key indicator and one of the critical parts of overall terminal
productivity at the same time. The productivity of a QC is measured by the number of moves
per hour. One move equals a transship of containers between vessel and transport vehicle
in the quay (wharf). QCs are currently able to realize about 30-50 moves per hour in practice,
see Table 3 (Post-Panamax, 1.75 TEU per lift). Almost all terminals are able to achieve
maximum productivity as low as 70 % and as high as 80 % of the computed number. QCs
do not achieve the technically possible productivity due to productivity losses caused
by operational disturbances. Nevertheless, technological improvements are increasing QC
productivity. The overall time load/unload of vessel is generated from the total sum
of loading/unloading containers. This sum is known in practise shortly before the vessel’s
arrival. The transhipment is determined by the stowage plan. For example, it will take nearly
three days to tranship 12,000 TEU vessel and exchange 75 % of its containers, using
6 cranes producing 40 lifts an hour. The effective work means a practical limit up to 6-8 QCs
servicing one ship on one quay. While a feeder vessel can be served by 1-2 QCs, big
container vessel can be served by up to 8 QCs (Marek & Bartošek, 2011). The bays
of the ship will be partitioned into several areas. Each area will be served by one QC,
which is called crane split.

Table 3: Comparison quay crane productivity (Böse, 2011).

Lifts per hour
Vessel Size (TEU) 30 40 50 Cranes
Vessel turnaround time (hours)
8,000 69 51 41 5
10,000 71 54 43 6
12,000 86 64 51 6

The move (travel time) is the simple cycle time from the wharf to the inside ship´s hold,
shown in Table 4 (single hoist and rope trolley). The hoist and trolley times are parallel
and the dwell times are in series. The longer parallel time dominates, the travel time can vary.
Depending on the location of the container the hoist or trolley time will dominate.
Table 4: An Example of cycle timeline (Post-Panamax).
Pick from wharf Raise Lower Find guides Lower Set in hold
Travel Hoist
time Trolley
Time (s) 0 13 25 35 39 52

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QC equipment variations, such as rope trolley or machinery trolley and single hoist or dual
hoist, can make a significant difference in moves per hour, see Figure 6.

Single hoist - 39 moves/hour* Dual hoist - 49 moves/hour*

80 50
Distance (m)

Distance (m)
Trolley Trolley
60 40
30 Hoist
40 Hoist 20
20
10
0 0
0 7 14 21 28 36 0 3 7 10 13 18
Time (s) Time (s)

*maximal values

Figure 6: Productivity of single and dual hoist (Rudolf, 2009).

QC productivity (one move) can be computed as a technical output. QC productivity QCp

(TEU) per hour is computed by using this simplified following formula:
𝑛𝑐
𝑄𝐶𝑝 = 3,600 ∙ 𝑡𝑝 ∙ 𝑐𝑡 ∙ 𝑓𝑡 ,
𝑡𝑡

where nc is the number of tranship containers in one move [TEU], tt is a theoretical time
for one move [s], which is composed of the sum of all time necessary for the transhipment
of the container (see chapter 3 and 4). This time is only theoretical, operation productivity
(number of moves) can achieve in practise 70 % of theoretical productivity. Therefore,
this fact has to be modified by the coefficient of utilization of theoretical productivity tp,
the value is 0.7. Furthermore, inefficient down time must be included. Waiting time
for loading/unloading of containers and other dwell time are expressed by the coefficient
of transhipment ct. It is also necessary to compute QC failure time, which is expressed
by the coefficient ft. The aim is to maximize the value of all coefficients up to the value one
or totally eliminate them (Dávid, 2009).

5 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FUTURE

QCs should be operational for 25 years, but the effective life will not be more than 20 years.
Vessels are currently bigger and bigger and will continue to grow (class Triple-E
from Maersk with length 400 m, width 59 m and capacity up to 18,000 TEU). QCs operated
and ordered today have to be capable of serving these new big ships and production
has to increase to maintain reasonable turnaround times at the same time. The future-proofs
of QCs are shown in Table 5 and illustrate some of the issues that need to be considered.

Table 5: Future-proofs of quay cranes.

Total maximal weight of containers will not increase with
the regard to the valid regulations for the size of containers
and their maximal beam load. Sporadically a much heavier
Capacity Operating load cargo beam load is admitted. Super Post-Panamax QC
has currently a maximum capacity of between 50-70 t.
For some container terminals 100 t cargo beam capacity
is economical. It is obvious that many more will operate

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tandem spreaders, which are according to numerous papers

economically and capacitively more profitable (for example
Široký, 2011). Hereafter, will more boost triple spreader,
which are able to lift even three 20ʹ. These spreaders
are equipped with Twin-lift technology (2 - 40ʹ), see Figure
7. It is also possible to take advantage of elevating girder
QCs that enable raising or lowering the height of QC before
vessel service operations begin. Quay crane productivity
can achieved 50 moves per hour.

Figure 7: Twin-lift spreader for 2 – 20ʹ, 40ʹ and tandem twin

lift spreader for a 2 - 40ʹ (Bromma, 2012).

The wide crane rail gage is simpler and more stable,

which means no more than 35 m, although there are some
good arguments for increasing the crane rail gage
Crane rail gage
to as much as 45 m. The cost of transship will be much
greater because the larger crane rail gage cannot be shipped
through vessels.
The current height should be kept as an optimal,
which means 42 m. It suits present needs for vessels with 8
Lift above rail containers on deck. When trolley is higher above the wharf
then it is more difficult to control the load. Lift above rails
for future QCs may be increased maximal up to 50 m.
Current cranes are able to serve for vessels with 22-24
containers on deck (i.e. 60-65 m). The limits for future
growth are represented by the parameters of the Suez Canal
Dimension (400 m length, 50 m width) and the Malacca Strait (470 m
Outreach length, 60 m width). Furthermore, there are limitations
for the maximal vessel draft, which means that the current
range will in the future be optimal with an economical 22-24
rows of containers on the deck. Outreach will be increased
later.
Contemporary backreach length (22 m) is optimal for future
Backreach QCs. Shorter or longer backreach may be reasonable,
but the cost reduction is low.
Portal beam clearance is 15 m nowadays. This height
is recommended to provide for future transport vehicles,
Portal beam such as straddle carriers. If the landside operations
clearance will be fully automated then a second hoist may be a rational
addition.
The higher portal beam clearance demands an increased

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structure to maintain a reasonably solid crane in the trolley

travel direction.
Currently the maximum speed of hoist is at 90 m/min
for loading and at 180 m/min for unloading. The speed will
not increase so much due to the vessel size and capacity.
The trolley type will be either machinery trolley or a rope
trolley, both have pros and cons (see Table 2).
The machinery trolley seems to be better (rope towed
Trolley Type and speed
option), but if a rope trolley is used, the ropes should
be coherently supported by the boom and girder, so the load
can be regularly supervised when the landside operation
is fully automated. Among the disadvantages
of the machinery trolley on the wharf belong the increased
QC weight and wheel loads.

6 CONCLUSION

Present-day vessel’s size and capacity demands lead to bigger and faster QCs. These QCs
have to be capable to serve 22 wide’s vessel and to lift 65 t of load under spreader and 100 t
under hook rapidly. Fast developing improvements in QC structure, electronical, automatic
and optical equipment will reduce dwell times and improve increasing QC productivity.
Releasing automation is one of the ways how to increase QC productivity; one of others
is to use either a double trolley system or a double hoist system on QCs. These QCs cranes
offer high potential capacity, but also require a well-integrated terminal process.
From the point of view of the container terminal operator these improvements
are perspectived and improving the vessel transshipment time.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research described in this article was established within the framework of the CTU
student grant competition in 2011 No. SGS11/139/OHK2/2T/16 “Logistics operations within
the framework of container transshipment”.

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