PSA Sines progresses to fully automated yard equipment with six new automated rubber tired gantry cranes

On 29th February 2024, the terminal operator PSA Sines in Portugal took its first step towards fully automated yard equipment with the arrival of six new fully automated Rubber Tired Gantry Cranes (aRTGs). These cranes, will be added to the twenty-nine existing yard cranes, allowing PSA Sines to ramp up its operations. The new equipment is set to increase productivity and improve safety at the yard, while helping the terminal achieve its ambitious sustainability goals.

These new aRTGs are part of Stage One of PSA Sines’s Phase III expansion project and are expected to be ready for live operations at the end of the second quarter of 2024. They will

first undergo on-site testing and commissioning in the coming weeks. This shift from diesel to electric will reinforce PSA Sines’ position as one of the leading ports of the Iberian Peninsula and contribute towards the company’s sustainability goal of cutting its carbon emissions in half by 2030 and being completely carbon neutral by 2050.

The new aRTGs, together with the two ship-to-shore quay cranes recently added, and the purchase of 12 new prime movers, are part of PSA Sines’s EUR 412 million Phase III expansion project. When completed in 2030, the terminal will be able to almost double its annual handling capacity from 2.7 million TEUs to 4.2 million TEUs, thereby strengthening its position as one of the main ports in the region. Since the start of upgrading works for the terminal in 2000, PSA Sines has so far invested over EUR 370 million to modernise its facility.

PSA Sines’ Head of Engineering, Mr Ricardo Sobral said, “These state-of-the-art cranes represent a significant leap forward in our terminal operations, combining cutting-edge automation technology as we advance towards our sustainability ambitions. PSA Sines will progressively incorporate fully automated remotely operated equipment which are electricity powered to further reduce our carbon emissions.”