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FOUR of the tallest cranes on the US west coast arrived in Seattle as part of the Terminal 5 modernisation project, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.
The arrival of the new equipment marks a key step forward with the long-term plan of the port expansion. The port is part of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) which operates the Port of Seattle along with SSA Marine that operates Terminal 5.
"We believe the Northwest Seaport Alliance and Terminal 5, have a very strong future ahead," said Ed DeNike, president of SSA Terminals. "The purchase of these new cranes underscores our commitment to the market and our customers. We know larger ships carrying increased volumes are coming. We want to be out in front of that curve and are preparing our terminal to service our customers' needs."
The four ZPMC Super-Post Panamax Cranes were built in China and were shipped to the port aboard a heavy lift vessel from Shanghai. Standing 316 feet in height with a 240-foot outreach boom, each crane can lift 100 tonnes of cargo providing increased capacity for the port.
Port of Seattle Commission president and NWSA co-chairman Fred Felleman said: "Reopening T-5 will not only enable us to reduce the truck traffic congestion serving T-18, but with the new cranes able to serve larger vessels, more cargo can be moved on fewer ships.
Furthermore, air, noise and climate impacts will be reduced by enabling ships to use shore power rather than running their generators while at berth - benefiting our killer whales and communities alike."
The new Terminal 5 cranes will begin moving cargo at the beginning of 2022, when phase one of the two-phase construction project is complete. On completion, Terminal 5 will feature 185-acres of additional capacity and on-dock rail to handle discretionary cargo and shorepower.
The NWSA is the fourth-largest international seaport in the United States. In 2019, the seaport handled more than 3.3 million TEU, which was down 12 per cent versus 2019. The port, however, has experienced a strong rebound in 2021, with volumes up more than 18 per cent in the first five months of the year to over 1.5 million TEU.
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