Four ship-to-shore cranes at Oakland International Container Terminal, are now 27 feet taller after completing a year-long, crane-raising project. The fourth and final raised crane went back into service last week and is ready to serve larger ships with containers stacked high above vessel decks.
These four gantry cranes increased their lifting height from 115 feet to 142 feet above the dock. The work began May 8, 2017 and was completed last week. The giant cranes can soar up to 393 feet, the height of a 39-story building, with the booms in the highest position.
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As SSA President Ed DeNike informed, these cranes are critical for loading and unloading massive container ships that arrive at the marine terminal, as they will move cargo more efficiently. The crane-raising project costed about $14 million.
Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll stated:
Raising cranes is part of our infrastructure investment strategy to increase the Port of Oakland’s competitive edge on the US West Coast. We’re confident that this will help us move more imports and exports through Oakland.
These taller gantry cranes can reach over an additional three levels of stacked containers on a big ship’s deck. As for how a container crane will be raised, the Port of Oakland describes it as following:
- A massive jack is constructed – this jack required fifty trucks to transport sections of the jack to Oakland; an expert crew assembled the jack;
- A rubber-tired trailer system is used to move the 3-million-pound crane off the tracks and reposition the crane to the work area;
- Engineers require at least two months to brace one crane on supports, cut away its lower legs, raise the crane, insert the longer extensions and weld everything back together;
- The taller crane is tested and placed back in operation.
- Total container volume in Oakland was up 2.3% for the first half of 2018. The Port, in collaboration with its terminal operators, anticipates heightening more cranes and adding new ones over the next few years.