SFT Designed and Supplied Double Cone Fender Systems for PSA Container Terminal in Sines, Portugal

The Portuguese city of Sines is located on the Atlantic coast in the southwest of the country. Port of Sines is a deep-water port with excellent access to the Atlantic. With an annual capacity of 2,3 million TEU and its advanced terminals, PSA Sines is one of the most important container terminals in Europe and a major hub in Portugal. To facilitate further growth, the container terminal has been expanded to accommodate the increased capacity of larger and additional container ships. SFT had already supplied the fender systems for two previous phases of construction works at the Port of Sines, totaling a quay wall length of 1140 m and overall 50 cone fender systems.

PSA Sines contracted the Portuguese construction company Mota Engil and Etermar for the fourth phase of the berth expansion at Terminal XXI which will extend the quay to 1750 m length. For this phase, our client requested a change in the design of the panels to increase the service life of the fender systems by a reduced submerged portion of the panels and improved maintenance. Together with our experienced engineering department, we proposed a modified design to meet the customer’s requirements and updated spacing between the fender systems.

Our Spanish office handled the order for 17 sets of Double SPC 1100 Cone Fender Systems, 9 pieces of 850 mm x 4200 mm rubber ladders and 16 SFT Staghorn Bollards with a capacity of 200 tons.

Despite covid-19 related government restrictions in Malaysia and logistical problems due to limited cargo space for such oversized steel panel (4750 mm x 3700mm) which required special flat racks for shipment, we successfully delivered the order in mid-2021.

Our colleagues Alvaro Rodero and Matheus Torres performed the commissioning together with the contractors and the end user during an inspection of the installed systems. They also checked the fenders of the previous phases, which were still in good condition and worked perfectly.

We are pleased to have received very good feedback on our service and material quality and wish PSA Sines all the best for the further port development. Thank you for your confidence in our know-how and the good cooperation.