Twin Super Post-Panamax cranes make spring arrival at the Port of Philadelphia
The first visual affirmation of a new era of growth arrived at The Port of Philadelphia, the company announces in its press release. PhilaPort received its first two super post-Panamax cranes at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal after a ninety-day journey from Shanghai, China. Manuafactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), the new cranes will be 13 feet taller than the neighboring Walt Whitman Bridge with its boom in the upwards position.
PhilaPort, along with Packer Avenue Marine Terminal’s operator – Astro Holdings, Inc. (a Holt Logistics affiliate) – have purchased the cranes as part of Governor Tom Wolf’s $300 million Port Development Plan to increase cargo-handling capacity and efficiency.
In the past decade, vessel size has grown exponentially creating a new class of container ships known as ULCVs (Ultra Large Container Vessel) with a 10,000 to 20,000 container capacity. Even before the arrival of the cranes, this past winter PhilaPort saw the largest containership that ever called the Port the M/V MSC Shuba B a 12,200 TEU vessel. These new container gantry cranes will be capable of discharging containers from these new larger vessels and have a cost of $12m each.
In November of 2016, Governor Wolf announced a $300 Port Development Plan. As part of the plan, Packer Avenue Marine Terminal operator, Astro Holdings, agreed to purchase one crane, as well as undertake other planned improvements to the facility.
In the first quarter of 2019, PhilaPort will be adding another two identical cranes and Astro Holdings another one crane at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal; bringing the total number of cranes at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal to seven.
PhilaPort, The Port of Philadelphia, is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of publicly-owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PhilaPort works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospect port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.