Recently, the container terminal at the Port of Toamasina in Madagascar took delivery of two ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, marking the first batch of such equipment ever put into operation in the country's history. As Madagascar's primary import-export gateway, the Port of Toamasina handles an estimated 90% of the nation's container throughput. The terminal is operated by ICISI and previously relied solely on mobile harbour cranes.

In response to growing domestic trade demands, the local port authority signed a loan agreement worth USD 639 million in 2017 for the expansion of the Port of Toamasina. The expansion project included deepening the C3 container berth to -16 metres, constructing a new 470-metre-long container berth, and expanding the container yard by approximately 15 hectares, raising the terminal's total handling capacity to 550,000 TEUs.

The two STS cranes have an outreach of 67.5 metres and a lifting height of 52 metres, making them technically capable of handling ultra-large container vessels. Previously, Madagascar was served only by feeder container ships; with this upgrade, mainline container vessels can now also call at the port. Currently, the Port of Toamasina is served by five regional shipping routes, including two operated by CMA CGM, and one each by MSC, Maersk, and Pacific International Lines, connecting the port to multiple hub ports such as Port Louis, Le Port (Réunion), Salalah, Colombo, and Singapore.