DP World has welcomed Europe’s largest quay cranes at its flagship London Gateway logistics hub, marking its latest investment to boost the country’s future trading capability.

Weighing more than 2,000 tonnes, the giant cranes will come into service at London Gateway’s new £350 million ($442.6 million) fourth berth, set to open this summer.

Following a two-month journey from China, the quay cranes have arrived at London Gateway before successfully offloading on 21 February.

The cranes are expected to operate for a minimum of 25 years and are reportedly sized to service the largest vessels currently in operation around the world – including 24,000 TEU containerships and even bigger vessels in the future.

The cranes have also been fitted with the latest automation technology and can complete ‘tandem’ lifts, which involves the loading or unloading of two 40-foot boxes or four 20-foot boxes in a single move.

Another two quay cranes are expected to dock at London Gateway in early summer. These follow the arrival of the £56m ($70.8 million) automated stacking cranes (ASCs) and £12m ($15.2 million) electric straddle carriers, which are also set to go into operation at the new fourth berth.

Ahsan Agha, Vice President Port Operations at DP World London Gateway, said:“At a time when the pressure to manage costs, maintain reliability and improve speed has never been greater, DP World in the UK has been building a unique array of assets and suite of capabilities to help our customers stay competitive in a fast changing and unpredictable trading environment.

“Thanks to the capacity soon to be provided by the quay cranes and the new fourth berth, that service at London Gateway is future-proofed for years to come.”

In August 2023, DP World welcomed five new customers at its latest facility at London Gateway in the first 100 days of operation.

More recently, DP World announced it has gone fossil free at both its UK logistics hubs with the removal of fossil diesel from its operations at London Gateway.