Some called it the Invasion of the Monster Cranes. As weekend boaters on the Mobile River and downtown port watchers looked on, the Port of Mobile took delivery June 24 on two new ZPMC Super Post Panamax ship-to-shore cranes that made a slow and stately arrival up the shipping channel aboard the M/V ZEN HUA 23. The cranes started the long trip from Shanghai, China, in late April.
For two machines just getting started in the business, they have a lot of reach. They boast 100-long-ton capacity and the ability to reach up to 23 containers wide and 10 containers high on deck. The port’s existing container cranes can only stack 19 containers wide and seven high.
While moving containers off and on deep-water vessels is their specialty, the new cranes can also transfer cargo to barges for movement along Alabama’s estimable river system.
The cranes at APM Terminals Mobile will handle growing containerized cargo volumes and new ocean carrier services. The city’s new Wal-Mart distribution center and the recently announced Amazon Sortation Center will likely be repeat customers.
Text by Dave Helms
