Port of Oakland prepares for megaships

The Port of Oakland's largest marine terminal plans to install three 300-foot gantry cranes next year, port officials said today.

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

SSA Terminals, which operates Oakland International Container Terminal, placed a $30 million order for the cranes, which it says should arrive in 18 months. They will have a lift height of 174 feet above the dock and will be able to reach 225 feet across a ship's deck, making it easier to get containers on and off vessels, according to SSA.

"Big ships are the future," SSA Containers President Ed DeNike said in a statement announcing the project. "They're coming to Oakland and we're going to be ready for them."

Oakland International Container Terminal is one of four marine terminals in Oakland. It handles more than 60 percent of the port's cargo volume and has undergone improvements over the past three years to accommodate growth, including adding equipment and labor and completing a $14 million project to heighten four cranes, port officials said.