Port of Savannah adds ship-to-shore cranes

The Port of Savannah received three Neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes on Tuesday, bringing its total to 36, more than any other single terminal in North America, port officials said this week.

The addition comes on top of dock improvements at the port’s Garden City Terminal. Overall, the port’s growing crane fleet will allow it to serve four 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels simultaneously by 2023, according to Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.

“We’re already moving containers from vessel to rail in 24 hours, and these investments will help to ensure cargo fluidity as our business grows,” Lynch said in a statement.

The cranes will undergo a commissioning process, with the first new crane going into service in about 12 weeks, officials said. All three cranes are expected to be loading and unloading vessels by the end of June. When fully assembled, the cranes will stand 295 feet tall, with booms reaching 22 containers across, officials said.

The port added three cranes in December, as well, with one already in use and the other two expected to be in use in the next few weeks, officials also said.