'The new cranes will play a major role in enhancing productivity and capacity necessary to handle the growing volume of cargo at Savannah,' said GPA's Executive Director Doug J. Marchand. 'They represent the promise of future growth and opportunity for our community and the state of Georgia.'
Fully assembled, the cranes are approximately 480 feet long, weigh 1,369 tons and rise 367 feet above the water with a 34-degree incline.
Modern and environmentally friendly, the four new cranes are the largest of their kind in the world, with the capability of handling super post-Panamax vessels the size of 22 containers wide. The cranes will be electrified and will eliminate the use of approximately 500,000 gallons of diesel, the emission of 690 tons of nitrogen oxide, four tons of particulate matter and 12 tons of hydrocarbons every year.
'Georgia's ports are committed to growing our terminals and our business in an environmentally responsible way,' said Curtis Foltz, GPA's Chief Operating Officer. 'The arrival of these new cranes is a part of that ongoing effort.'
The cranes, designed in Finland and fabricated in China, were ordered two years ago from Konecranes VLC. The cranes will continue to support the fastest growing port in the US, as well as enhance GPA's 2015 growth strategy. By 2015, the throughput capacity at GPA's Garden City Terminal is projected at 6.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (teus), an increase of more than twice today's capacity.
