The Ashdod port has procured three new eco-friendly ship unloaders for the overall cost of about 18 million shekels. Upon the conclusion of the tender process with several leading companies in this field, the Italian company Bedeschi Italy won the project of supplying the unloaders. The unloaders were manufactured and assembled by the company in Italy and then transported to the Ashdod port in their assembled state.
The job of the unloader is to receive the ship's cargo using cranes and scoopers which unload the cargo into trucks integrated into the unloader's legs. The Ashdod port procured two kinds of eco-friendly unloaders. The first can unload cargo into the truck at the rate of 800 tons per hour, and two additional unloaders to be used for the unloading of grain at the rate of 550 tons per hour.
The weight of each unloader is about 130 tons, and they are approximately 15.5 meters high. The new unloaders have innovative abilities which include the ability for independent driving, a stoplight and a PA system for directing the trucks. There is also a filtering system installed for sucking in the dust and preventing air pollution during the work. In addition, the new unloaders include a weighing system which is controlled by the machine's operator and can be used to fill the trucks in a precise manner.
Itzik Cohen, the acting CEO of the Ashdod port: "investing in the new unloader goes together with additional investments we have made in the port in order to promote the operational aspects and bring about significant improvement of output. This is achieved along with caring for issues such as maintaining the environment, which is something the port views as a high priority. The Ashdod port views these steps as an additional means of preparing for competition and will allow the port to meet professional international standards while implementing technological innovation."