Port Houston Cranes "On the Way"

Three new Super Post-Panamax cranes bound for Port Houston's Barbours Cut Container Terminal departed Shanghai, China Sunday, aboard the ZHEN HUA 13. Along the journey these 405 feet tall cranes will travel with booms fully raised. Once they reach their destination after a two and a half month journey, the cranes are slated to replace three older ones at Barbours Cut.

These cranes are just a part of a $700 million modernization program under way at Barbours Cut to increase cargo-handling efficiency and capacity. In addition to new cranes, other improvements (including wharf and container yard reconfiguration measures) are expected to increase terminal capacity from 1.2 million to 2 million TEUS, adding to the 14 ship-to-shore wharf cranes and 44 rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) currently operating there.

Commenting on increased investments along the Houston Ship Channel, Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther remarked that "considerable improvements are being made by Port Houston as we strategically prepare for expected growth." It is anticipated that the U.S. Gulf region will see steady growth in coming years due to increased production and export of plastic resins, which should follow several plant expansions along the Houston Ship Channel coming on line.

Barbours Cut, the first container terminal to serve the gulf, celebrates its 40^th year of operations this year. Port Houston also owns and operates the Bayport Container Terminal. Both facilities can serve 45-foot draft vessels, and together are responsible for nearly 70 percent of all of the container cargo business along the Gulf Coast, and 95 percent of the container activity in Texas.

In another milestone, last month Port Houston announced that Barbours Cut established a new record for container lifts from one vessel: 4,198 moves were completed while working the 5,000 TEU COSCO BOSTON.

The $33 million purchase of Port Houston's newest Super Post-Panamax cranes was approved by the Port Commission in 2015, and they are expected to be delivered to Barbours Cut on or around Oct. 7. The journey to deliver the cranes to Port Houston can be followed at this link: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-12.0/centery:25.0/zoom:4

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, the port has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals of the Port of Houston – the nation's largest port for foreign waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the nation. It supports the creation of nearly 1.175 million jobs in Texas and 2.7 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling almost $265 billion in Texas – 16 percent of Texas' total gross domestic product – and more than $617 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit Port Houston's website at: www.porthouston.com.

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