Konecranes to boost handling productivity at Port of Felixstowe
Konecranes, the Finland-based manufacturer of lifting equipment, received an order for 17 Automated Rubber-Tired Gantry Cranes (ARTGs) for Felixstowe, the busiest container port in the UK. The deal, concluded in the last quarter of 2021, is divided into three phases.
The first batch consisting of six gantry cranes must be delivered in the middle of 2023. The completion of the order and go-live is planned for the fourth quarter of 2025. It will be the first delivery of Konecranes’ ARTGs to the United Kingdom as well as for the Hutchison Ports which operates the container port in Felixtowe. For Konecranes, it is also the largest order of ARTGs for the single terminal or project.

It is envisaged that the new cranes will be integrated into a single automated system with Felixstowe’s eight existing ARTGs, Remote Operating Stations and Konecranes Crane Task Management System. “Konecranes will integrate Felixstowe’s existing ARTGs with the Konecranes ARTGs in a harmonized automation platform,” says Darryn Scheepers, Konecranes’ sales manager for EMEA.
A single operator at a Konecranes ROS will be able to remotely handle up to five ARTGs simultaneously across the yard. The Konecranes Crane Adapter Module will enable giving the work orders to the existing Felixstowe’s cranes. As for the safety instruments, the Konecranes’ “street bogie” solution manages to detect obstacles and TRUCONNECT remote monitoring provides remote crane diagnostics.
Usage of Konecranes ARTG technology to give a boost to Felixstowe’s throughput and to its decarbonisation efforts as the cranes are fully electric. Today, the port of Felixstowe handles more than 4 million TEU per year.