In a bid to service the industry’s mega ships, the Port of Oakland has announced that it's raising four massive gantry cranes 7.9 metres higher, with the work scheduled to begin in April, 2016.
John Driscoll, Maritime Director at the Port of Oakland, said: “The big ships come here on a regular basis. This equips us to take on more of them as shipping lines continue to scale up.”
The taller cranes, located at Oakland International Container Terminal, will be able to reach 42.9 metres above the dock.
They will also have the height to load and unload ships with a capacity of up to 14,000 TEU, which are currently the biggest ships calling at US ports.
The four thirteen-year-old cranes each weigh more than 1,250 tonnes. They will be supported by jacking frames while their legs are cut away and replaced with new, longer ones.
The legs of the crane will be fabricated by Shanghai-based crane manufacturer ZPMC.
The port's cranes can lift as much as 58.9 tonnes of containerised cargo, and once they have been heightened, they'll be able to reach three rows of containers higher on a ship.
In total, there are 33 cranes at the port's five marine terminals and eight of them are tall enough to reach atop the biggest ships in Oakland.
The Port said it's lifting additional cranes with an eye toward the future of global trade.
Fact File: The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport, and 20 miles of waterfront. Together with its business partners, the port supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region and nearly 827,000 jobs in the US.
