Hurricane test for Kingston Freeport terminal ‣ WorldCargo News
As Hurricane Melissa bares down on Jamaica, Kingston Freeport Terminal has done what it can to secure its equipment. But with a huge storm surge and wind speeds reaching 295km/h the port is facing the prospect of widespread damage. In anticipation of Hurricane Melissa passing over Jamaica Kingston Freeport Terminal ceased gate operations at 17:30 on 23 October.
Since then the port has been securing assets and equipment as the most powerful hurricane since Katrina threatens to bring widespread devastation to Jamaica.
Empty stacks lowered and lashed in places.
Preparations include parking the straddle fleet with each machine's spreader lowered and secured to a laden container on the ground to provide extra stability. A border of containers has been organised around the straddle parking areas. Empty handlers have been placed away from container stacks, which have been lowered, and their spreaders attached to containers on the ground.
Using a reachstacker and a vessel lashing cage some sections of empty container stacks have been secured with lashing rods, although from images posted by the port it does not appear that lashing rods were available in large quantities. The terminal has STS cranes on three different berths, all facing in different directions. These have been parked with their booms raised in the storm position.
It is not known what type crane tie-down system is available to secure the cranes. At the time of writing Melisa was coming ashore in Jamaica as a Category five hurricane. The US National Hurricane Centre has said it will be "extremely dangerous and life threatening" as it hits.
Kingston Freeport is on the south side of Jamaica, where the storm surge is expected to reach 4m. At the time of writing maximum reported wind speeds had reached 295km/h (185mph). This exceeds the maximum wind speed most cranes at ports in hurricane zones in the US are designed to withstand.
The strength of the wind could even be strong enough to blow a crane over backwards, depending on the wind direction. Katrina, also a category 5 hurricane, caused widespread damage when it struck New Orleans in 2005. Even a month after the event containers were still being removed from residential and commercial properties around Gulfport Mississippi.
In 2017 Hurricane Irma, another category 5 hurricane, cause widespread damage to Port St Maarten in the Caribbean.
Straddle carriers anchored to containers.
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