Whatzit 43 Redux

This overcast day contributed to photos that appear to gray-out all but the range of bronze, red, and orange.  But what is this cargo and why is the title here a “redux”?

Here’s a closeup and

an even closer up. 

I counted a total of 14 of these Kalmar straddle carriers aka straddlers on deck. The fact that these have cabins says they are not autonomous models.  I believe these are electric, not hybrid, or diesel models.  Since they’re going to Maher Terminals, these would be “fleet renewal” electric ones alluded to here.  Anyone know how many straddlers can be found at the various terminals in the sixth boro?

 

In November 2018 on a blindingly bright day, the same vessel came to the sixth boro of NYC with the same type of load.  See it here.  The only differences are that that time it came from Finland and this was from Gydnia, Poland and straddlers were a different model headed for a different terminal in Port Elizabeth.

 

All photos yesterday, WVD.

Whiler we’re on “reduxes,”  this is the 100th anniversary of Day-Peckinpaugh‘s first visit to New York;  here’s a redux post on that first trip . . .

 

 

Whatzit 43

Sorry about the washout colors below;  what happened was the dawn light was intermittently too bright or dull, as winds washed clouds across the sky.

Nevertheless, I headed out because I saw a Spliethoff vessel in the offing, heading into the sixth boro. Painted a unique copper brown, Spliethoff vessels all have names ending in -gracht, or “canal” in Dutch. Saimaa is a lake in Finland. since they carry unique cargoes, I wondered what Saimaagracht would be carrying.  I’ll direct your eyes, but won’t tell you until the end of this post.  Some of you maybe have guessed from the photo below.

Vertical beams connected to high-up horizontal one, cabins, and wheels.

Closeup of cabins on 182 and 170.  Ladders and landing.

Some of them are differently loaded, cabins positioned on the starboard side of the vessel.

Side view of Saimaagracht, showing escort Moran 6000 and all the machines.  Who knows what’s in tweendecks–if anything–and holds.

Slightly different angle of cabins, and

cabins in their full context.

Just guessing here, these machines are 25′ to 30′ high, with a spread of just under 9′ or 10′.  That actually a clue.

See the scudding clouds.  I’m now curious about something else . . . the structure on the starboard side of the superstructure and connected by horizontal ducting.  I didn’t zoom in on that in the moment.

 

My verdict is . . . they are a set of new Boxrunner straddle carriers, aka straddlers, by Kone Crane.  The ship was arriving from Finland, so the manufacturing may have been done there.  A next generation will be automated, just like self-driving cars, trucks, tractors, and ships.

And my conjecture is that starboard side stern structure is part of a sulphur oxide  (Sox) scrubber plant.

All photos yesterday by Will Van Dorp.  For previous photos of –gracht vessels, click here.  I was unable to find a photo of  Spliethoff vessel from the 1920s, when they began, but here I learned  BigLift–with their Happy vessels– is one of their subsidiaries.  Spliethoff was involved in a pilot container project between Europe and Cleveland a few years ago.

Unrelated:  read this and listen to the audio . . . NY Media Boat takes journalists to the islands off the VZ Bridge.