Carmel Terminal News

The 13,092 TEU containership Maersk Elba arrived at Haifa Port's Carmel Terminal, becoming the largest ship ever to dock in Israel. Maersk Elba entered the Carmel Terminal Thursday, and was operated on by four STS cranes with an average productivity of 136 containers per ship hour. This ship is part of the weekly service line operated by the 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC linking the ports of South Korea, China and Singapore to Haifa Port, and from there continues to the Adriatic ports. A video of Maersk Elba entering Haifa Port is available here.

The direct line shared by the world’s largest shipping companies Maersk and MSC is coming to Israel for the first time – as part of their massive 2M Alliance. Shipping giants MSC and Maersk have signed a cooperation agreement with the Haifa port. The agreement states that, starting from October, ships of the combined fleet will dock at the port on their way from China, South Korea, and Singapour to the Adreatic sea. The first ship, the Maersk Gustav, is the largest ship to dock in Haifa yet - 373 meters long, holding 10,000 containers. The agreement states that ships will dock in Haifa once a week. Haifa Port recently set an all-time record for productivity during one shift – a record output of 318.8 containers per ship hour was achieved by the Carmel Terminal’s six STS cranes…

In April, the new Voith Water Tractor (VWT) "Ilan" underwent its official sea trial achieving a speed of 13.5 knots and a bollard pull of 73.5 tons. The Haifa port authority decided in favor of the VWT due to its precise maneuvering capabilities. Each of the two diesel engines supplies the Voith Schneider Propellers with an input power of 2 640 kW. design of the tug in cooperation with the shipyard. Four other VWT equipped with Voith Schneider Propellers already operate successfully in the port of Haifa, one of the largest ports in Israel. The "Ilan" has been designed for a bollard pull of 70 tons whereas those of the other VWTs range between 30 and 55 tons. In recent years, the amount of goods to be handled and thus the shipping traffic in the port of Haifa have been on the increase.

The Port of Haifa is one of the largest ports in Israel and a key hub for trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. The port handles over 20 million tons of goods a year. Four Voith Water Tractors ensure safe berthing of the container ships. On November, the tug fleet was enlarged by another Voith Water Tractor. With a bollard pull of 70 tons, the "Ilan" stands out from all other vessels. 30, 35 and 55 tons respectively. All vessels use the Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) propulsion system. increase in capacity following the opening of the Carmel Terminal in 2014 led to the port authority ordering another Voith Water Tractor as a harbor tug. It is not only the enormous bollard pull of 70 tons that makes the "Ilan" stand out.