The Georgia Ports Authority commissioned the first of four new neo-panamax ship-to-shore container cranes at its Garden City Terminal, Savannah.
The GPA’s roster now totals 23 cranes, with three more scheduled to come online.
"Expanding our capabilities means we are able to grow along with our customers, and adjust to changes in the logistics marketplace, such as increasing vessel sizes," said GPA Chief Operating Officer Ed McCarthy. He referenced the larger container ships now calling Georgia since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal.
Georgia ports this week said container tonnage in February increased 14.4% from the same month a year ago.
Garden City Terminal is served by Norfolk Southern and CSX. The new cranes are produced by Konecranes of Finland, and can work the largest ships calling on the U.S. East Coast.
Garden City Terminal will add another crane every two weeks until late April, bringing the total to 26 this year: 20 neo-panamax and six post-panamax cranes. Another four neo-panamax cranes are on order and will be delivered in 2018.
The GPA in a release said its terminals will be able to handle more than 1,000 container moves per hour when all 30 cranes are in place.