Giant quay cranes brought up the Thames to boost UK trade infrastructure

The quay cranes completed the long sea voyage from China on vessel Zhen Hua 10 via the Cape of Good Hope to arrive at DP World London Gateway Port, just 25 miles from Central London.

When installed they will match DP World London Gateway's existing cranes in providing the greatest lift-height above water of any quay cranes in the UK.

This investment keeps the UK at the cutting edge of shipping technology and ensures thecountry remains competitive, by being able to handle the world's largest container ships.

Other two cranes for the third berth are due to arrive in London, movingdevelopment of the terminal's third berth onto the next stage.

At their highest point, the quay cranes stand at 138m tall, which is the same height as the London Eye. They weigh 2,000t and are unloaded from the vessel onto DP World London Gateway's quay wall using pulleys and winches at high tide. The process of moving these mega-structures safely onto the quay takes 45 minutes.

A further 20 automated stacking cranes and additional 10 modules have already been installed,while in April, the port took delivery of a fleet of hybrid shuttle carriers.

Once the third berth is open, DP World London Gateway will have 1250m of quay wall, providing three deep-water berths and more ultra-large container vessel capacity than any other port in the UK.

Cameron Thorpe, CEO, DP World London Gateway, said: "These cranes are unique in the UK because they are safer, more wind resilient, able to lift morecontainers in one movement and comfortably reach out across and above the largest containerships.With DP World London Gateway, the UK has a port and Logistics Park in the very best location for trade, able to meet the demands of the container shipping industry both now and in the future."

Located just 10 miles from the M25, the trimodal terminal opened in November 2013 and is handling a cargo from across the globe.