Employees at the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) last week made history with a record 168 moves per crane hour on the Zim Antwerp, the largest container vessel to berth in Jamaica.

The vessel, which is 334 metres long, was off-loaded by four super-post Panama cranes, each doing 42 moves-per-crane hour each.

Noel Hylton, president of the Port Authority of Jamaica, said this was the first time in the history of the port that productivity had been at that level. "We will continue that productivity until the end of the programme," Hylton said. He was speaking at the welcoming ceremony for the mega liner held at KCT last Thursday.

Hylton thanked the management and workers and unions of the port of Kingston for their support and loyalty.

Meanwhile, two Shipping Association of Jamaica stevedores, who were among the first gang to board the vessel, expressed their enthusiasm regarding the historic event.

"I am really impressed with the magnitude of the vessel. We will continue to work with the highest level of professionalism to ensure that these vessels continue to call our ports," stevedore Newton Brown said.

The Zim Antwerp has a 64-step gangway with a higher incline, compared to other vessels which have a 52-step gangway.

Elated

Stevedore Gavonnie Phipps said he was elated to have been among the first to work the vessel. "Vessels such as this allow for the port of Kingston and its portworkers to stand out as being among the best in the world," Phipps said. "We are now poised to be an international hub for vessels of this size that are coming from the Far East," he added.

Phipps concluded that this new development is a move in the right direction as the shipping industry rebuilds itself.