Abu Dhabi’s flagship Khalifa Port, the first semi-automated port in the GCC region and one of the most technologically advanced ports around the globe, has employed the first female quay crane operator in the UAE.

Ayesha Hassan AbdulRahman Al Marzooqi, a 28-year-old Emirati, now controls one of the port’s gigantic super-post-Panamax cranes.

With a height of 126.5m and a weight of 1,932 tonnes, the super-post-Panamax crane is one of the largest and most modern ship-to-shore quay crane in the world.

The crane is used to unload container vessels and has an outreach of 65m (22 containers) and a lifting capacity of 90 tonnes – the same weight as 48 four-wheel drives.  

Al Marzooqi is a trainee and in the final phase of her training programme, which allows her to work independently on the port site.

Her workplace is a small, see-through cabin right underneath the crane’s boom, some 60m above the ground. From here, she overlooks the container vessel beneath her feet and directs the spreader, a specialised tool which is connected via several steel ropes to the crane’s framework.

As part of the unloading process, Al Marzooqi lowers the spreader on top of the ship where it grabs and locks onto one of the containers. By pulling the steel ropes, she carefully lifts the container and then slowly manoeuvres it onto the dockside.

Depending on the vessel size, up to six quay cranes operators work simultaneously in a row of six cranes and unload a container ship, guaranteeing the fastest turnaround time possible.

From the dockside, the containers are picked up by straddle carriers and dropped off at the so-called waterside transfer zone. From here, the Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs) move the containers to Khalifa Port’s dedicated container yard, where they are loaded onto trucks and then taken to the desired location.

“I watched a documentary about a female pilot in the UAE Air Force who truly inspired me. Before I started my training at Khalifa Port container terminal, I was given a tour of the port facilities and the ship-to-shore quay cranes really fascinated me. I felt this was my calling and I decided to become a crane operator,” she said.

Capt Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, chief executive officer, Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “As the Middle East develops into one of the top global trade lanes, the local maritime industry promises significant growth. In order to cater for this growth, Abu Dhabi Ports is focused on the recruitment and development of Emiratis to build the next generation of highly qualified maritime professionals to support the diversification of the economy for the future of this country.” - TradeArabia News Service