Four Super-Post Panamax cranes departed Shanghai on 23 May, heading east to the Northwest Seaport Alliance’s (NWSA) Terminal 5 in the U.S. Seattle Harbor.
As informed, the cranes, manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. (ZPMC) will travel on heavy load carrier Zhen Hua 36 and have an approximate 30-day voyage before settling in their new home at Terminal 5.
Standing 316 feet tall with a 240-foot outreach boom, these cranes will be among the largest on the West Coast and able to handle the biggest container vessels operating in the world, as noted by the NWSA.
SSA Marine, a partner in the Terminal 5 project, is the owner and future operator of the new ZPMC cranes.
Port of Seattle Commission President and NWSA Co-Chair Fred Felleman commented: “The voyage of the ZPMC cranes to the Puget Sound marks a major milestone for the completion of Terminal 5 and will provide a major lift toward making our gateway more competitive – bringing more cargo, jobs, and economic opportunity to our region.”
The cranes’ journey on Zhen Hua 36 will be tracked across the Pacific Ocean and the data will be updated on a daily basis.
Due to the complex nature of large infrastructure construction combined with unforeseen circumstances, Terminal 5 project faced delays and now is scheduled to be finished early next year.
Modernizing Terminal 5 will allow the NWSA to handle some of the largest container vessels calling at West Coast ports.
With a modernized T-5, the NWSA’s containerized cargo is estimated to reach nearly 7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually in 2050, according to a recent economic analysis.
Last month, Northwest ports of Vancouver, British Columbia, Tacoma, Seattle, and the combined container operations of NWSA jointly committed to phase out emissions from seaport-related activities by 2050.
Under the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, NWSA and Northwest ports seek to meet this target through changes in equipment, fuels, and infrastructure.