The Port of Savannah received three neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes on Tuesday, bringing its total to 36, more than any other single terminal in North America.
“Along with dock improvements at Garden City Terminal, our growing crane fleet will allow Savannah to serve four 14,000TEU vessels simultaneously by 2023,” said Georgia Ports Authority executive director Griff Lynch.
The new cranes, designed by Konecranes of Finland, will immediately undergo a commissioning process. The first new crane will go into service in approximately 12 weeks, and all three will be loading and unloading vessels by the end of June.
“The decision to invest in these cranes was made two and a half years ago to meet growing cargo demands,” said GPA Board chairman Will McKnight.
In December 2019, three additional cranes arrived in Savannah. Among the largest working the US ports today, the new cranes tower 90m above the docks when fully raised and assembled.
Of the cranes that arrived in December, the first is already in use. The second crane is in its final commissioning phase and should be in use in the third week of March. The boom of the third crane was raised last week, and should be in operation by April.
