Southeast Asia · Case study

PSA Singapore City Terminals, Crane Relocation and Recycling during Terminal Consolidation

Tanjong Pagar, Keppel and Brani Terminals, Singapore2017 to 2027 (crane relocation and dismantling from 2017; city terminals to close by 2027)

PSA is moving all operations at its Tanjong Pagar, Keppel and Brani city terminals to the new Tuas Port by 2027, and Pasir Panjang Terminal will follow in the 2040s (MPA, n.d.). Closing three terminals left PSA with a large fleet of quay cranes and yard cranes. Some could keep working at other terminals; the rest had reached the end of their life at the site. PSA's approach followed the waste hierarchy: reuse equipment where possible, then dismantle and recycle the rest.

Approach

Reuse first: relocate working cranes. PSA moved 12 quay cranes and 16 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from Keppel Terminal to Pasir Panjang Terminal in two phases. Quay cranes weighing up to 2,050 tonnes each were carried by sea, standing more than 85 meters above the vessel deck (Seatrade Maritime News, 2019).

Dismantle the rest through a specialist contractor. From 2017, McMahon Services, engaged through asset disposal firm GoIndustry, dismantled 12 quay cranes, 26 RTGs and 3 rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes at the city terminals. A further seven quay cranes were added in February 2019. The fleet covered 11 crane models from six manufacturers, and the largest crane weighed 872 tonnes (McMahon Services, n.d.).

Recover components for resale. Gearboxes and generators were removed and sold on the international market. Greases and transmission fluids were recovered before cutting (McMahon Services, n.d.).

Separate and recycle the metal. Cranes were cut down with oxy-cutting and cold-cutting, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals were separated. Ferrous scrap was shipped to Viet Nam for recycling on two vessels of about 10,000 tonnes each (McMahon Services, n.d.).

Manage risk next to live operations. The work involved more than 200 major lifts, using eight types of crane rated from 160 to 700 tonnes, alongside live port operations. Main risks included work at height, falling objects, heavy plant on suspended slabs and lightning (McMahon Services, n.d.).

Results

About 21,000 tonnes of crane structure was dismantled in 11 months. Of this, 19,600 tonnes of ferrous metal and 37 shipping containers of non-ferrous material went to recycling, giving an overall recycling rate of 99 percent (McMahon Services, n.d.). The relocated quay cranes and RTGs stayed in service at Pasir Panjang (Seatrade Maritime News, 2019). These figures come from the contractor and a trade publication. PSA's own sustainability reporting reviewed for this case doesn't report them.

Transferability:

DMC ports closing or upgrading terminals can set a clear order of preference for old equipment: redeploy it to another terminal, sell usable components, and only then dismantle and recycle. An asset survey before closure shows which cranes have remaining life and which parts can be resold. Dismantling contracts can require a recycling rate, separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, recovery of oils and greases, and records of where scrap goes. Where work happens next to live operations, lifting plans and site safety controls need to be part of the contract.

Sources

All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.