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Posted by Dale Crisp
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23 July, 2026
LONG-TERM container equipment partners Patrick Terminals and Finland’s Kalmar have announced further steps in the portside decarbonisation process with a major order for hybrid and automated straddle carriers.
The new Autostrad machines prior to loading. Image: Patrick Terminals
Patrick has confirmed orders for 10 Hybrid Straddle Carriers and 12 Hybrid AutoStrad™ machines from Kalmar, with the first group to be deployed in Melbourne and the second at Sydney AutoStrad terminal at Port Botany. The order was booked in Kalmar's 2026 Q2 order intake, with delivery scheduled to be completed during Q2 of 2027.
Patrick already has 10 hybrid straddles at East Swanson Dock (ESD) in Melbourne and one hybrid AutoStrad in Port Botany, as a trial unit.
Fourteen new hybrid AutoStrads are arriving in Port Botany now, being discharged from dship Carriers’ 12,330 DWT MPP Bruce, which arrived yesterday [22 July] from Morehead City, North Carolina, having loaded the equipment in Poland, where it was manufactured.
By the time the latest orders are delivered the company will have a total of 20 hybrid straddles at ESD, 27 hybrid AutoStrads at Port Botany, and nine battery-electric Terberg terminal tractors in Fremantle. Earlier this week DCN reported the latter have enabled the Patrick terminal to reduce Scope One emissions by 15%.
Speaking about the latest Kalmar order Michael Jovicic, CEO, Patrick Terminals, said it represented a further step in the 10-year strategic partnership between Kalmar and the company.
“The Kalmar AutoStrad plays an important role in operations at our Brisbane and Sydney terminals, and this order will further our strategy of delivering superior value to our customers," he said.
Karri Keskinen, head of Oceania at Kalmar said his company was “incredibly proud to see our newly formed strategic partnership materialize so quickly into active fleet expansion".
"By combining our industry-leading AutoStrad technology with advanced hybrid power units, we are delivering on our joint commitment to enhance operational excellence and drive meaningful decarbonisation across Patrick Terminals' network," Mr Keskinen said.
Footnote: Did you know that dship Carriers, operator of Bruce, names its ships after rock stars? Hence Bruce = Bruce Springsteen! There's also Mick, Keith, Ronnie and Charlie after the Rolling Stones, Olivia (Newton John), Annie (Lennox), Alanis (Morissette), Janis (Joplin), Stevie (Nicks) and more. At one stage there were several AC/DC members too ...
What’s more, Patrick’s Port Botany terminal manager is … Bruce!
