The first of four new Neo-Panamax cranes recently began operation at the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, Georgia Ports Authority said.
The terminal is the Western Hemisphere’s largest single container terminal, and the recent addition is its 27th crane.
The crane is capable of lifting a container 152 feet above the dock and reaching across vessels up to 22 containers wide. Its first job was a 13,300 20-foot-equivalent-container-unit Hapag Lloyd vessel, and it moved approximately 2,700 containers on and off the ship.
“Georgia’s ports are dedicated to staying a step ahead of market demand,” Griff Lynch Georgia Ports Authority executive director, said. “These investments ensure port users can grow their business and supply chain efficiencies in Savannah.”
The second new crane will begin operation next week with the last two entering service at a later date. By 2020, the port will receive six more cranes. When all the cranes are in operation, the port will be capable of nearly 1,300 containers per hour over a single dock.
The cranes are part of a strategy that allows the port to handle the shipping industry’s largest vessels. The deepening of Savannah Harbor also will help with that task.
Neo-Panamax cranes are designed by Konecranes of Finland.