With a fifth crane, two more straddle carriers and more than 1,000 new containers and chassis being added by leading tenant Tropical Shipping, the Port of Palm Beach is further enhancing its ability to swiftly and efficiently handle a growing volume of containerized cargo. The company's $9.8m investment in new equipment supports increased volumes, larger vessels and retirement of older equipment.

"These most recent additions are indicative of the commitment that Tropical has to the Port of Palm Beach and, moreover, will help meet the increasing demands of the people throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas who rely upon our port to provide them with the goods they need," said Blair J. Ciklin, chairman of the Port of Palm Beach District Board of Commissioners.

The Gottwald crane, which is capable of handling lifts of containers weighing as many as 50 tons, was delivered the last week in July from Germany aboard the M/V Scan Germania. It joins two other Gottwald cranes plus two Manitowoc cranes at Tropical's Port of Palm Beach facilities. In addition, Tropical brought four Kalmar Industries straddle carriers from Finland on August 4 aboard the M/V Spuigracht. Two of the "strads" are joining nine similar units already in use at the Port of Palm Beach, while the other two are being shipped to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, for use by Tropical there.

Equipment added by Tropical includes 300 new chassis, with 250 of those units to remain at the Port of Palm Beach, as well as 1,055 new containers. The containers include 518 forty-foot-long, high-cube dry containers; 182 forty-foot-long flatrack containers; 300 forty-foot-long, high-cube refrigerated containers; and 55 twenty-foot-long refrigerated containers.