en.Wedoany.com Reported - Portonave, the main port operator in Santa Catarina, Brazil, has added seven electric RTG (eRTG) cranes. These units, each 28 meters high and weighing 150 tons, are the first batch of a 14-unit purchase order and are expected to begin operations in August this year. The remaining seven units are scheduled to arrive by the end of July.
The cranes departed from Dalian, China, and were transported by vessels under COSCO Shipping, covering a voyage of approximately 20,000 kilometers. Unloading operations began immediately after the vessel docked and will continue until Thursday, the 9th of the month, with the transfer from ship to dock expected to take about one and a half days. The first batch of equipment is scheduled to be operational by mid-August, while the remaining units will begin work in the first week of September.
The eRTGs are manufactured under the Konecranes brand, with design completed in Finland and production carried out in China. The new cranes have a maximum lifting capacity of 41 tons and can theoretically stack containers seven high, but Portonave stacks only five containers per tower for safety reasons. These eRTGs are already prepared to connect to the terminal yard's electrification system, powered by batteries. This electrification system has been serving other RTGs in the Portonave fleet since 2016, when the operator retrofitted 18 of its diesel units, reducing pollutant emissions by 96.5%.
The electric fleet will continue to expand. In the second half of this year, two new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes will arrive and be gradually delivered by January 2027; by then, 30 terminal tractors and 5 electric reach stackers will be in operation.
These equipment were acquired under the "Reporto" tax regime, established in 2004 to promote the modernization of national port infrastructure, benefiting companies in the port and railway sectors. It exempts federal taxes such as import duties, the Industrialized Products Tax (IPI), the Social Integration Program fee (PIS), and the Social Security Financing Contribution on Imports (Cofins-Importação) on equipment purchases.
The total value of these new cranes is $37.8 million. The terminal renovation plan is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, after which the terminal will be able to accommodate vessels up to 400 meters in length. Portonave's total investment in engineering and procurement exceeds $360 million (over 2 billion reais). Upon completion, the terminal will have 8 STS and 32 RTG cranes, increasing its annual throughput capacity from 1.5 million TEUs to 2 million TEUs.
