On 16 May, Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH) subsidiary Barcelona Europe South Terminal (BEST) achieved a new record when it moved 7,760 TEU on the call of MSC Beatrice.

A total of eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes were deployed simultaneously for the operation, achieving a peak Vessel Operating Rate of 221.3 moves per hour.

Guillermo Belcastro, General Manager of BEST, said: “BEST is the only terminal in the Mediterranean capable of reaching this level of productivity thanks to its semi-automated operations, which are supported by HPH’s proprietary terminal operating system nGen and the efforts of our team. This high level of productivity plus the reliability of our operations allows shipping lines to obtain important savings by reducing their time in the Port and improving the vessels’ schedule planning.”

BEST has 1,500 metres of quay length, eleven ship-to-shore cranes, as well as 36 automatic stacking cranes and 26 shuttle carriers, allowing it to serve the largest vessels currently in operation.

BEST’s average gross crane rate (GCR) of 40 moves per hour is one of the highest productivity ratios in the world. This extremely high level of crane productivity makes it possible for BEST to achieve vessel performance rates over 220 moves per hour.

Mr. Belcastro added, “The most relevant fact is that the bigger the vessel, the better our productivity rate, which is aligned with the current industry trend of increasing vessel size, and with the needs of the shipping lines”.

BEST provides multimodal logistics solutions to its customers with rail services connecting Barcelona with the major import/export areas around Spain. Its eight-track rail facility is the largest on-dock terminal in the Mediterranean and serves a large hinterland area within a 600 kilometre radius around Barcelona. The market for rail services has expanded in recent years and BEST is supporting the Port of Barcelona’s strategic objective of to become the Mediterranean’s alternative access point for European markets.