Team Lines' 822TEU Götaland becomes the
first ship to call at DCT Gdansk
DCT Gdansk, Poland's newest deepwater port facility,
celebrated its first day of commercial operations today (1 June) with the
arrival of the 822TEU Team Lines' ship Götaland. The 136-metre
container vessel - en route from Klaipeda, Lithuania to Hamburg, Germany -
berthed alongside the brand new terminal at 12.00hrs to load 53 Hapag-Lloyd
containers, totaling 55TEU.
On site to toast the arrival of the
terminal's first ship were the President of the Port, Stanislaw Cora, and the
Mayor of the City of Gdansk, Marcin Szpak, as well as Customs and border guard
officials, all of whom were welcomed by DCT Gdansk's management team including
the company's CEO, Colin Chanter, and General Manager, Fred Kamperman.
Mr Chanter praised the various government and public
authorities who have played such an important role in the creation of this new
port facility and then Mr Kamperman presented a shield displaying the City of
Gdansk coat of arms and an array of containers to Götaland's
master, Captain Dieter Kube, to mark the occasion.
Commenting on the arrival of Götaland, Mr
Chanter said:
"It's almost two years ago that we set today,
1 June, as the inauguration date of DCT Gdansk's commercial operations and it
is extremely gratifying to see that the first ship has berthed right on
schedule. Everyone associated with this project should be very proud. Not only
is it a testament to the professional approach adopted by our contractors,
Hochtief, Van Oord and Liebherr, but also to all of the companies, large and
small, who have played their part in this project.
"I would add too that we have been very
impressed by the quality of the individual workers who have participated in the
construction of the terminal and the high calibre of the local workforce we
have recruited to manage and operate the terminal. Their positive attitude
towards the training programmes we implemented will pay dividends in the months
and years to come, of that we can be sure.
"We are particularly thrilled that Team Lines
and Hapag-Lloyd, both leading names in the container shipping industry, have
made our first day in business so memorable. We are sure that they will be
followed very soon by other major operators as they realise the tremendous
potential we have here at DCT Gdansk."
DCT Gdansk presently has two post-Panamax
ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and three rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes in
operation and is linked to Poland's transport infrastructure by new road and
rail links. By September 2007 the terminal will be operating with three STS
cranes and five RTGs with attendant yard space and back-up machinery to give
the facility an annual throughput capacity of 500,000TEU.
-ends-
Notes to editors:
Photographs to accompany this press
release are available to download from the Dunelm Public Relations website at
http://www.dunelmpr.co.uk/DCT-Photogallery-NEW.htm.
The caption for the photos reads:
Team Lines' 822TEU feeder vessel
Götaland became the first ship to call at DCT Gdansk on 1 June,
when it loaded 53 Hapag-Lloyd containers.
For more information about DCT Gdansk please visit
www.dctgdansk.com. |
