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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48 (2012) 3471 3481

Transport Research Arena Europe 2012

On-Board STS-Crane on a catamaran container vessel as

combination of jib- and gantry-crane serving small ports,
improving logistic efficiency."
Volker H. Rosenkranza* , Carlos lvarez-Cascos G.Mauriob
a
Innovacion Logistica SL.
Urb. Pena Grande 2, 15590 Ferrol/Spain
b
ACCIONA Trasmediterranea
Avda. Europa 10, 28108 Alcobendas/Spain

Abstract
The 7FP-Project EU-Cargoxpress developed a concept of an innovative, sustainable catamaran cargo-vessel with
an on-board-crane able to serve small coastal and fluvial ports without proper Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes.
The crane as part of a covering multifunctional sail-wing is hinged in a moving and revolving Superstructure,
covers the whole vessel length and cantilevers over the perimeter of the vessel.
The goal is to accelerate the movement of container and general cargo from the vessel to the port and making
maritime transport more competitive.
2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Programme Committee of the
2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of TRA 2012
Transport Research Arena 2012 Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
"Keywords: Cargo-Catamaran; On-board STS-Crane; Short port stay; High loading efficiency; Ship-port-interface"

*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: info@cargoxpress.eu

1877-0428 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Programme Committee of the Transport Research
Arena 2012 Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.1311

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Fig.1: 3D overview of new cargo-vessel with cantilevering on-board crane. Source Innovacion Logistica SL (ILCX)

1.

Introduction, Background and Objectives of the paper

1.1 Introduction
EU-Cargoxpress developed a sustainable and competitive container and general cargo vessel aimed at a
partial replacement of coastal European and African cargo-flows from road towards maritime transport.
This paper describes as part of the overall project the development of a more efficient onboard Ship-toShore crane and its potential to shorten the vessels port stay.
The goals for the new crane include:
x
x
x

Fast transfer of container and project cargo from vessel to quay without external support
Low crew operations
Autonomy to load/unload in small ports without shore support

The next natural step is the construction of a full-scale experimental prototype to run a normal coastal
cargo-traffic and gain experience in daily operation at sea and in port.
1.2 Background
The current road-transport connects all Europe to the last corner and supplies cargo even to coastal port
cities and factories, if not situated on an island. Even shipyards receive most of their material and heavy
equipment by road-transport.
On the other hand, the maritime transport has reached only few of all accessible coastal and fluvial ports.
All of them are embedded in surrounding towns and close-by hinterland with populaces from 10.000 to

Volker H. Rosenkranz and Carlos lvarez-Cascos G.Maurio / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48 (2012) 3471 3481

more than 500.000. The project counted more than 1.200 ports in Europe and Africa, with 560 viable for
maritime cargo transport.
The question arises, why most ports and port-towns are disconnected from the modern cargo-flow
through maritime logistics and the trucks deliver by road, saturating the limited street and highwaycapacity, while the Ocean surface is literally empty from logistic hardware.
One typical circle argument used is, that small and medium ports do not invest in cargo moving hardware,
see Fig. 2a, because there is not enough cargo-movement.

Fig.2a: Ship To Shore Cranes. Source: Wikipedia.

Fig.2b: Feeder vessel with on-board jib-cranes source:

th
Dokmar Maritime Publishers B.V. 6 Edition.

Currently some feeder vessels are equipped with on-board jib-cranes (1) (2) mounted in centre-line or on
the vessels side, Fig. 2b. They are able to unload container and short project cargo in ports without
external crane support, as long as the capacity and reach is sufficient.
The main advantages are proven design and function.
Their disadvantages are:
x
x
x
x

Need of counterweight like ballast water to avoid excessive heel of the vessel
Reduced area of action and cantilevering
Slow action due to turning of crane and cargo during unloading
Difficult control of container positioning due to insufficient overview of the operation.

Nevertheless, they present a viable solution.

A third solution is the employment of mobile-cranes accessing the quay area. They are flexible in moving
along the vessels side, but very slow, expensive and cumbersome to position.
1.3 Objective to improve Crane productivity, shortening port stay
The whole process of moving cargo from the vessel to the final destination consists of various steps.
Focus is laid here on the movement of cargo from Ship to Shore and the storage next to the vessel on the
quay. Especially the former has main influence on the time the vessel needs to stay in the port. Other time
consuming issues (for instance administrative, crew, supply, small maintenance) are not discussed deeper
in this coherence. It is assumed that these issues can be carried out before and during normal loading and
unloading procedure.
x

STS-Crane, Fig. 2a: Between 20 and 25 movements per crane-hour are normal for a traditional

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container terminal
Onboard-jib-crane, Fig. 2.b: According to the report Benchmarking Container Terminal
Performance (Rotterdam, 2003) the productivity when using a ships gear, may be of about 8-15
movements/hour

The difference averages 11 movements per hour and converts (using single cranes) to:
x

Additional port time of 4,2 hrs with 100 movements (around 170 TEU, depending on the mix 40/20foot container)
Additional port fees, depending on the port
Additional shore-manpower and energy

x
x

These numbers multiplied over the lifetime of the vessel diminishes the operators benefits.
But in time of rising fuel-prices, he looses additionally the flexibility for lower the vessel-speed to the
next port and thus saving on fuel. Depending on the vessel-hull form, size and payload, reducing the
speed from 13 to 11 knots, (3,7 km/h less) the hydrostatic resistance (Pe) is 47% lower. As an example
for a 200 TEU feeder vessel:
100 miles sailing with 13 miles/hr requires approx. 5,3 t fuel
100 miles sailing with 11 miles/hr requires approx. 3,3 t fuel.

In the paper: Preparing for high fuel cost and environmental

restrictions with a 200 TEU container-vessel using wind and
solar energy, saving over 50% with a new operation model"
this is described more in detail. See TRA 2012 conference
papers.
Loading-technology matters!
The project studied a way to apply the more efficient Ship-to-Shore crane concept onto a cargo-vessel
serving containers and large project cargo alike.

2.

Applied R+D methods

2.1 Basic cargo-transfer

Logistic engineering has developed all kind of equipment to transfer cargo from ship to shore:
x
x
x

Lifting cargo with jib-cranes and STS cranes plus different means of attachment
Moving cargo by transport-belts or roller-lines into the cargo-bay
Driving trucks or trailers into the vessel on different decks like in Ro-Ro-vessels

Most of these except STS cranes are slow or cumbersome. Ro-Ro systems have the inherent disadvantage
of transporting the 7-10 t trailer or truck additionally to payload and requiering lots of deck space for
moving and positioning in decks.
Normal STS cranes have a limited clearance between the colums, designed for extra long containers.
Large project cargo cannot be loaded by this equipment, it needs extra jib-cranes or mobile-cranes on
shore.

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The following simplified model helps to understand the way a different solution was developed.

Fig. 3a: Gantry type crane on-board. Source: ILCX.

Fig. 3b: Jib Type Crane onboard. Source: ILCX.

Fig. 3a: To copy the main advantages of the shore based gantry crane we install on the walls of the vessel
(1) on top of the cargo-deck (2) a set of rails (3) to move a gantry-bridge (4) along the mid-ship axis. The
gantry-bridge has sufficient height to move a high-cube container (10) plus spreader plus runner over the
rails (3) into the cargo-bay.
The gantry-bridge carries right-angled a cantilevering rail-system (6) with runner (8) and container (10).
The process of loading and unloading of containers resembles shore-based gantry-cranes, if proper
control is guaranteed.
The advantage of this system is: High speed and simple well-known design.
The main disadvantages are: Unable to load large cargo with orientation parallel to mid-ship axis and
need of telescoping cantilevering rail-system (6) to get a certain reach onto shore, a difficult technical
task.
Fig. 3b: To load large project cargo a Jib type crane (6) on top of a moving gantry bridge (4) would be
acceptable. It requires generally a rotating load-platform.
The advantages of this system are high flexibility to accommodate project cargo into the cargo-bay, the
positioning of the Jib in sailing direction and simple well-known design.
The main disadvantages are: Slow movements, extra turning and not efficient for container.

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Fig. 4a: New onboard Crane working in Gantry-mode.

Source: ILCX

Fig. 4b: New onboard Crane working in Jib-mode.

Source: ILCX

A solution, where the advantages of both systems can be combined, consists in a gliding table (4) with a
large opening in which a platform (5) is turning (jib-function). On this platform a cantilevering crane
plume (6) is hinged and lifts, as needed depending on the cargo height.
In container transport it works as a gantry crane as shown Fig. 4.a.
In case of loading/unloading large units of project cargo, the platform (5) turns (jib-function) and deposits
the cargo into the free space of the cargo-bay, Fig. 4.b.
2.2 The concept of loading through the turntable shown in the following image

Fig. 5: Loading container through the large opening of the new onboard Crane. Source: ILCX

Volker H. Rosenkranz and Carlos lvarez-Cascos G.Maurio / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48 (2012) 3471 3481

Fig. 6: Basic cargo-vessel concept with multifunctional Superstructure. Source: ILCX

The large flap hinged to the Cabin-Platform, Fig. 6, has the functions:
x
x
x
x
x

Serving as support-structure for the cantilevering onboard crane

Serving as hatch-cover for the cargo-bay in bad weather or for delicate cargo
Serving as a sail-wing for wind harvesting up to 700 kW
Serving as a solar collector in southern regions
Serving as cargo-bay-lid, improving overall structural stability, when clamped down in extreme
situations

Challenges towards the new system:

The concept-design for the moving and revolving Superstructure, Fig.7 shows very large building blocks,
so-far unknown in traditional vessel building. Revolving bridges have been built in ferries, but the
combination of so many functions into the Superstructure seems to be innovative.
The consortium is aware of the outstanding engineering challenges for building the cantilevering cranesail-wing on the structural side, as well of the mechanical challenges to turn the Bridge-Platform within a
20m-table bearing.
Moving the whole Superstructure along the ships centreline is a known technology by bridge-crane
builders.
Forces and moments have been evaluated and submitted to finite element calculations.
In the phase of a prototype design, those calculations will have to be refined.

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Fig. 7: Some basic structural building blocks for the whole Superstructure. Source: ILCX

Fig. 7 shows the concept resulting from the above-mentioned schematic solutions. The lower vessel is not
included. The Top Rails will be mounted on the sides of the cargo bay walls reaching from bow to stern.
In the Top Rails glides the Table, which carries the whole Superstructure.
The Table has a large inner groove, which takes the ring of the Platform and the turn-motors. The
Platform carries on the frontend the Bridge with the necessary equipment for the whole Superstructure
and crew quarters. On the Platform are pivoting points, where the Sail-Wing is attached. Telescopic
cylinders will lift the Sail-Wing for crane operations and for wind harvesting.
By turning the Superstructure, the Bridge can be positioned into the necessary view-direction towards the
quay while mooring and towards the port-exit for departing.
2.2

Application of this onboard crane in small ports

In large container terminals the loading of containers will be done by the terminal STS cranes or at
separate berths with the vessels own onboard crane. This decision depends on the terminal, the local
organization and availability of berths.
In small and medium ports, the vessels will unload/load by its own means.
The containers can be positioned beside the vessel with a normal reach-stacker for the yard service. This
vehicle will later, after departure of the vessel, distribute the container towards a waiting area or directly
on a truck for delivery.
Type of equipment

Container

XXL Cargo

Moves/h

Operation area

Yard-support

Shore based STS

Yes

No

20-25

Large ports

Necessary

Shore Mobil crane

Yes

Yes

8 to 15

Large/small ports

Necessary

Vessel based jib-crane

Yes

No

8 to 15

Small ports

Necessary

Vessel based STS

Yes

Yes

20-25

Small ports

Not necessary

Volker H. Rosenkranz and Carlos lvarez-Cascos G.Maurio / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48 (2012) 3471 3481
Table 1: Comparison of different crane-equipment for port unloading. Source: ILCX

Fig. 8: Space covered by the crane of the new cargo-vessel. Source: ILCX.

This is a great advantage versus traditional feeders with jib-cranes, which could only unload/load in two
areas and would require permanent clearing of those areas by yard-equipment, a loss of efficiency and
increase of lead-time (not shown in Table 1).

Fig. 9: Situation at loading/unloading dock. Source: ILCX.

Additionally space for direct truck loading or unloading is available alongside the vessel.
As the movement of the crane can be controlled using a given unloading pattern with automatic
coordinates-definition x-y-z; direct truck delivery is a disturbance, because the position of the truck
towards the vessel is not well defined.
The dock-space could accommodate more than half of the vessel capacity:

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x
x

Approx.100 TEU of the 32t type

Approx. 200 TEU of the light type and empty containers

This assures that the vessel does not have to wait for Yard equipment to clear space or to bring additional
cargo. Other impediments like fuelling, charging of batteries, crewing, maintenance etc should run in
parallel during loading/unloading.
The autonomy by using the vessels onboard crane eliminates the current waiting time for port-owned
cranes, being STS or mobile. This allows for unloading/loading at night, when normally no port-crew is
available and leaving the port at short notice.
The advantages of this combination are more speed and autonomy in container handling and high
flexibility in project-cargo handling.
The challenges listed in the text above are mainly technical challenges for the large turntable equipment
and the lifting forces for the crane-plume. These challenges will need intense engineering attention in the
next steps.

Fig. 10: View from quay to crane unloading a 40-foot container, the control cabin hanging in the middle rail. Source:
ILCX

3.

Conclusion

The proposed innovative cargo-vessel is a new approach towards sustainable and competitive maritime
transport, serving small coastal and fluvial ports without proper loading equipment.
The article presents for discussion and feedback a concept of a novel Ship-to-Shore crane mounted on a
moving and revolving Superstructure.
This crane has equivalent productivity to shore based STS cranes but with the advantage of being able to
load large project cargo in jib-mode too.
The main expected advantages are shorter port stay and with this the ability to sail to the next port with
reduced speed and fuel consumption. It will promote the transfer from current road-transport to maritime
transport and as a by-product develop small ports and their towns.

Volker H. Rosenkranz and Carlos lvarez-Cascos G.Maurio / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48 (2012) 3471 3481

The promoters are currently assembling resources and supporters to start detail-design and building a first
vessel in 2012/13. A first operator has already been found.

4.

Acknowledgements

To the EU-Commission, having the vision to accept our Grant Proposal and to our Project Officer for his
engagement supporting the R+D work.
To the creativity and cooperation of the Consortium, producing this promising result.
Supporting
Consortium

Country
of origin

Company / Institute

Acciona
Trasmediterranea

Shipping company for freight and passengers

Autoridad Portuaria
Gijon

Port Authority with MOS knowledge

MARINTEK

Norwegian Marine Technology Research

Institute

SDC

SDC Ship Design & Consult GmbH

Universidad
Politcnica Madrid

University for Naval Construction

CMT

Centre for Maritime Technologies e.V

Swerea-SICOMP

Swedish Institute of Composites

ILCX

Innovacion Logistica SL

Kockums AB

Shipyard with experience in composite

material

Fjellstrand AS

Shipyard for catamaran ferries in Aluminium

KTH Stockholm

Technical University

NTUA

National Technical University of Athens

DNV

Det Norske Veritas as Subcontractor

5. References
Eu-Cargoxpress 7FP, Project Nr: 233925, Images c/o Innovacion Logistica SL Ferrol/Spain
Wikipedia: Ship To Shore Cranes.
Klaas Van Dokkum: Dokmar Maritime Publishers B.V. SHIP Knowledge 6th Edition.
Feeder vessel with on-board jib-cranes
Report Benchmarking Container Terminal Performance (Rotterdam, 2003)

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