Work has started at California’s Port of
Oakland to heighten four 366-foot ship-to-shore cranes by 27-feet over a nine
month project.
The cranes, which are used to load and
unload container vessels, will be better able to reach containers stacked high
above decks on modern-day megaships.
The first of the four units was pulled off
its guide rails last week and shuttled to the eastern edge of OICT’s Oakland
Estuary dock, where the work will take place beginning next month.
Over a nine-week period, engineers will
brace the crane on supports, cut away its lower legs and affix extensions. The
modified crane is scheduled to return to duty before withdrawing the next one
for raising in August.
“This is a commitment to the future of shipping in Oakland,” John
Driscoll, the Port’s Maritime Director,said, adding that “vessels are getting
bigger and bigger and we’re providing the infrastructure to keep them coming
our way.”
Oakland International Container Terminal’s
(OICT) cranes will be raised in partnership with SSA Marine, the terminal
operator under the project which is estimated to cost around USD 14 million.
The port said that crane-raising is part of
an overall effort to strengthen Oakland’s competitiveness among West Coast
ports. Other projects underway or expected to begin soon include doubling the
size of the nearby TraPac marine terminal, constructing a 287,000-square foot
Cool Port for refrigerated cargo transport and developing the first 27 acres of
a Seaport Logistics Complex that will attract additional imports and exports.
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