Port of Oakland Gets Giant Cranes

SSA Terminals, the operator of Oakland International Container Terminal, submitted last week a $30 million order for three 300-foot-tall gantry cranes, which are expected to be delivered in 18 months.

The cranes will go to Oakland International Terminal on Oakland Estuary and will become the tallest on the West Coast, port officials said.

The project aims to prepare the port to handle the world's largest container ships, which can be up to 1,300 feet long and carry nearly 23,000 cargo containers. The containers can be stacked up to 12-high above deck on the largest vessels, officials said.

“This demonstrates the faith that business partners have in Oakland as a trade gateway,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll.  “There’s no more visible sign of a port’s growth than installing larger ship-to-shore cranes.”

The new cranes, which were ordered from Shanghai-based ZPMC, will have a lift height of 174 feet above the dock and will be able to reach 225 feet across a ship’s deck, SSA said.

The cranes, which could be 440-feet tall with booms upraised, would be delivered by ship from China.  They’d arrive only partially assembled to assure clearance under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

“Big ships are the future,” said SSA Containers President Ed DeNike.  “They’re coming to Oakland and we’re going to be ready for them.”