Afloat tracked a heavy-lift vessel berth in Belfast Harbour today having sailed from Dublin Port and from where in both ports project cargoes consisting of container infrastructure had been loaded in Cork Harbour, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Portuguese flagged heavy-lift vessel UHL Focus arrived in Belfast Harbour this morning to discharge a new STS (ship to shore) container crane for Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The unloading of the unassembled crane manufactured by Liebherr plant in Killarney, is taking place near the H&W Shipyard but downriver along the southern bank of the Lagan.

Prior to the delivery to the Ulster port, UHL Focus had discharged in Dublin Port two new RTG's (rubber tyred gantry) cranes for the Doyle Shipping Group which Afloat contacted to confirm. UHL Focus arrived in the port in the early hours of Monday where operations to discharge the part-cargo in Alexandra Basin along Ocean Pier were completed yesterday afternoon.

The RTG's will in fact be used on location at the neighbouring Alexandra Basin (East) where DSG operate a container terminal. The role of RTG's is a mobile gantry crane used in intermodal operations to ground or stack containers.

The cranes were also manufactured by Liebherr's Co. Kerry plant and according to DSG they were fully assembled and tested at the shipping group's terminal in Cork Dockyard (the former Verolme Cork Dockyard).

On the quayside at the dockyard in Rushbrooke near Cobh, the cranes were loaded on board. UHL Focus then transported them to Dublin Port and where they are ready to go into action in such challenging times where keeping trade flows moving is vital to ensure the economy functions.

In November, Afloat reported on the delivery of a crane for DSG in Dublin Port, but on that occasion the port infrastructure was imported from Liebherr of Germany. The crane was a not for lifting containers but is used at the same terminal to cater for break-bulk cargo handling.