Two more massive container cranes are about to call Port Saint John home, bringing the total to six.
Officials say the two cranes began their journey by ship from the Port of Virginia on Tuesday.
DP World announced plans to add additional cranes at its west Saint John terminal back in August.
Craig Bell Estabrooks, the port’s president and CEO, said this will be the most they have ever had at one time.
“They’re actually slightly larger and have a little more reach, so if a container ship is wider, they’re going to be able to handle more cells on the container ship and work it that much more efficiently,” Bell Estabrooks told our newsroom at the time.
With an outreach of 65 metres, the cranes can reach up to 24 containers wide and are capable of servicing vessels with a capacity greater than 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
The lift height of the cranes is also 5.4 metres greater, reaching 40.4 metres, according to a release from DP World.
RELATED: Port Saint John adding two more cranes
Port Saint John recently completed a $205-million west side modernization project, which saw its laydown capacity more than double to 325,000 TEUs.
Work continues on phase two of the project, valued at $42 million, which will increase the port’s laydown capacity to 800,000 TEUs by 2025.
As a result of the modernization project, which includes a deeper and wider channel, DP World added two larger cranes in 2023 to accommodate bigger vessels.
Bell Estabrooks said once all six cranes are in operation, they will be able to have four cranes working on a larger ship at the same time while the other two focus on a second ship.
