If it were not for the lock down,I would be out and about at conferences and seminars talking to executives in the industry about the great new innovations from the BLOK Container Systems engineers. 

 

Ever positive, I note that for container terminal operators this is an opportunity to think about how we can improve and do things differently when the crisis subsides. 

 

For sure,there will be a backlog of goods that need shifting and ports will be as important as ever to meet the pent up demand for the products that are an important part of our daily lives and vital to the revival of national economies. In the UK for example, it is likely that more will be moved in shipping containers as shippers seek to avoid delays at busy Ro Ro ports such as Dover... remember Brexit? 

 

Inevitably there will be some congestion in container ports and a need to load and unload vessels quickly and efficiently, to keep ships moving and to avoid excess fuel and pollution from speeding up to catchup on schedules. 

 

The most universally applicable product in the portfolio is the new BLOK Rig which has the ability to cut crane cycle time by up to 30%. Each BLOK Rig fits and removes four SAT twistlocks in seconds and works across the range of laden and empty containers. The modular design of the rigsenables them to handle 20ft, 30ft, 40ft, 45ft and even 53ft containers. The BLOK Rigs can be positioned on the quay, ship, crane or roll trailer and one operator can control two rigs. 

 

While the BLOK Rigs work well with single spreaders the efficiency saving can be boosted even further when used in pairs and combined with a tandem spreader for laden containers or BLOK Spreader for empties. https://www.blokcontainersystems.com/blog 

 

BLOK Spreaders are lightweight tandem lift adaptors for standard single spreaders that fit in seconds and immediately double the speed of loading and unloading empty containers. The spreader is controlled wirelessly by a screen on the crane drivers dashboard and makes use of cameras for increased ease of use. For ease of operation with straddle carriers the containers can be separated up to 1600mm. Where applicable the BLOK Spreader can also handle four empty containers in Vertical Tandem lift in association with the BLOK Cert safety test.