After the commissioning, in the Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf Port of Dammam, the cranes will be ready to handle 14,000-TEU ships. The three new Shanghai-built ZPMC ZP-13/2060 quay cranes are capable of lifting 65 tonnes, have a lift height of 44 metres and can extend 60 metres.

The Saudi Arabian terminal operator International Ports Services (IPS), which operates the Dammam Container Port in King Abdul-Aziz Port in the Eastern Province, has been steadily investing in new infrastructure to keep up with developments in the container shipping industry.

IPS has seen its vessel capacity increase from handling 5,000-TEU ships in 1998 to 11,700-TEU in 2014.

The company has invested more than US$100 million over the last four years in quay cranes, yard cranes and civil works in the yard in order to cater for the new generation of cranes and maintain top performance.

"The new cranes are a quantum leap forward for port services in the Kingdom and confirm our continuing ability to offer shipping lines the fastest service possible in Dammam Port," said IPS Dammam CEO Jay New.

IPS' crane operators have already been sent to the ZPMC training factory in Shanghai and confirm that the cranes are a significant technological leap ahead for port operations.