Cargo Operations: Alabama
New Super Post-Panamax Cranes Bound for Mobile
Two brand new, super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes are on their way to the Port of Mobile. Manufactured in China, each crane can span 22 rows of containers and reach containers stacked 10 high on deck, enough to handle ships of up to 14,000 TEUs capacity.
The fully-assembled cranes were loaded last week aboard the heavy lift ship M/V Zen Hua 23 for delivery to APM Terminals Mobile in late June. The terminal is owned by the Alabama State Port Authority and operated under lease by APM Terminals.
APM Terminals Mobile, which increased container traffic at the port by 19 percent last year to a record 277,307 TEUs, is expecting a boost following the opening next year of a Walmart import distribution center in Mobile.
To keep pace with current growth and expanding market opportunities, APM Terminals announced last year a $47.5 million, Phase 2 expansion that will increase terminal throughput capacity to 500,000 TEUs annually. The 95-acre facility opened in 2008 with a depth of 45 feet and two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes capable of spanning 18 container rows. Phase 2 will expand the container yard by 20 acres and includes the two new cranes.
Heavy lift ship M/V Zen Hua 23 departing Shanghai with two super post-Panamax cranes for APM Terminals Mobile