Four new cranes boost Savannah lift

Georgia bid up the competitive balance among East Coast container ports as it took delivery of four Neo-Panamax cranes at the Port of Savannah, already the largest U.S. container facility.

Once commissioned, the Nov. 22 arrivals will boost Savannah’s crane fleet to 30, with another six cranes scheduled for delivery in 2020. That is expected to push the port’s lift capacity to 1,300 containers per hour.

The new cranes, representing investment totaling $47 million, join ongoing infrastructure improvements at the port, including the Mason Mega Rail Terminal which, when completed, will double Savannah’s annual rail capacity to 1 million container lifts, and expand the port’s reach into the Midwest. Savannah is directly served by CSX and Norfolk Southern

Since nearly two-thirds of the ships calling Savannah are Neo-Panamax vessels, the new cranes are tall enough to lift containers 152 feet above the dock, with a reach of 192 feet from the dock face. Lift capacity for each crane is 72 tons. With the booms up, the cranes are 412 feet tall. The crane fleet operates over nearly 10,000 contiguous feet of dock and nine berth spaces.

After some assembly and testing, the first of the new cranes will go into service in February. Two more will be commissioned in March, with the final crane going into service in April.