Four container cranes manufactured by the Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries are scheduled to be shipped from Puget Sound to Tacoma, Washington, today on a 761-foot heavy lift ship.
With no container cranes manufactured in the United States, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) ordered a total of eight super-post-Panamax cranes from the Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer. The remaining four cranes are expected to be delivered in early 2019.
The cranes were scheduled to be loaded onto the heavy-lift ship Zhen Hua and welded into place early Friday morning. The cranes, which will tower 295 feet above the deck, can be viewed from the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Worden State Park, Fort Casey Historical State Park, and Fort Flagler Historical Park, among other points along the trip to Tacoma.
“When they arrive, the cranes will be installed at Husky Terminal, which is undergoing about $250 million in terminal improvements that began in September 2016 on Tacoma’s General Central Peninsula,” an NWSA release stated. “Upgrades include strengthening and realigning a berth and adding eight new super-post-Panamax cranes capable of serving two 18,000-TEU container ships at the same time.”
The cranes will have an outreach of 24 containers and lift height of 165 feet above the pier deck.