Cargo Ships: Container Ships
A- Cargo Ships
Cargo ships or freighters are classified according to the nature of the goods transported on board and their packaging. We therefore distinguish:
- Dry cargo ships
a- Container ships
These are ships designed solely for the transport of containers. They are very powerful and fast.
The handling method for container ships is vertical handling or lift on/lift off (Lo/Lo). Containers are handled using gantry cranes and mobile cranes. On the ground, highly mobile reach-stackers and straddle-carriers ensure movements and stacking.
All containers have the same fastening system with corner posts present on the eight corners of the parallelepiped and twistlocks fixed on trucks, trains, on board ships, and on handling equipment. Lifting is carried out from the four upper corner pieces using the twistlocks that engage with them. This lifting can be performed by a multitude of devices whose common point is the presence of a rectangular frame bearing the twistlocks: called a spreader.
For example, in Senegal, the Port Autonome de Dakar (PAD) has dedicated Pier 6 for the commercial operations of these ships. Pier 6 or container terminal is managed by the giant Dubai Port World (DP World) which carries out all container ship handling operations.
I will be talking to you very soon in this section about bulk carriers…
