Four 295 foot tall cranes aboard the Zhen Hua 28 did a "sail by" on Friday afternoon as curious (but cold) observers watched from the shorelines of the greater Seattle area. The cranes are world class Super Post Panamax destined for the Port of Tacoma.
The ship sailing from Shanghai, China made the crossing in 36 days. It is a 50,000 dead weight ton heavy-lift ship, roughly 232 meters (761 feet) long and will wait at anchor in Commencement Bay briefly before delivering the cranes to Tacoma's Husky Terminal, which is currently undergoing a $250 million renovation.
Husky Terminal upgrades include strengthening and realigning a berth and adding eight new super-post-Panamax cranes capable of serving two 18,000-TEU container ships at the same time. The new cranes will have an outreach of 24 containers and a lift height of 165 feet above the pier deck.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance ordered the eight cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) in China with four more arriving in 2019.
