Zhen-Hua-24

Hamad Port welcomed its second commercial vessel on August 13, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement yesterday. This, along with other key developments, is expected to help pave the way for the launch of “early operations” for certain types of vessels before the end of the current year, the statement noted. The vessel carried a second shipment of cranes, including four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and six rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes. The ship’s arrival was in accordance with the planned schedule. Hamad Port had welcomed the first commercial vessel carrying the first shipment of cranes on July 19. The ship, heavy load carrier Zhen Hua 10, had arrived directly from China. The arrival of the third and final shipment of cranes is expected by the end of this year, which will take the total number of cranes at Hamad Port to eight STS cranes (100m high and weighing over 1,200 tonnes) and 26 RTG cranes. “With the completion of all marine infrastructure works, the installation of container handling equipment (STS and RTG cranes) will mark the accomplishment of another milestone in the construction of Hamad Port. This means the mega port will be ready for the early operation of certain types of vessels and shipments before the end of the current year,” the statement added, saying this reflected the efforts of the project management team and all stakeholders under the supervision of the Hamad Port Steering Committee. The port basin is 4km long, 700m wide and 17m deep. The new Hamad Port is expected to handle more than 6mn containers a year once all three phases of the project is completed, HE the Minister of Transport Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti had said during the arrival of the first vessel. http://www.gulf-times.com/eco.-bus.%20news/256/details/451438/new-hamad-port-welcomes-second-commercial-vessel

The "Zhen Hua 24" sailed Mar 6 morning from Hampton Roads east in the Thimble Shoals channel in the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia Beach. Report with photo: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/did-zhen-hua-24-post-bail