Mega Cranes Commissioned at Port of Houston
First containership discharges using mammoth new equipment at Barbours Cut
The Port of Houston Authority last week commissioned the first of four new Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at its Barbours Cut Container Terminal.
The four 30-story-high electric cranes are reportedly the largest ever constructed by Konecranes, and currently stand taller than any other marine cranes in North America, according to the port.
The cranes were ordered by the Port of Houston Authority amid ongoing infrastructure expansion to prepare in part for the larger Post-Panamax container vessels that will call at the Port Authority’s facilities – part of a $1 billion five-year modernization plan that also includes dredging and land-side infrastructure and wharf improvements.
The cranes were ordered by the Port of Houston Authority amid ongoing infrastructure expansion to prepare in part for the larger Post-Panamax container vessels that will call at the Port Authority’s facilities – part of a $1 billion five-year modernization plan that also includes dredging and land-side infrastructure and wharf improvements.
“These cranes can move a loaded container twice as fast as their predecessors,” said Port Authority Executive Director Roger Guenther. “They will bring our Barbours Cut terminal capacity from 1.25 million TEUs to 2.5 million TEUs.”
With a 65-long-ton capacity and the ability to handle two 20-foot containers simultaneously, the cranes’ capacity increases to 80 long tons with use of a cargo hook. The first operational crane began discharge maneuvers early this morning with a 4,250 TEU capacity container ship.
