Photo credit: The Northwest Seaport Alliance
SSA Terminals (Seattle Terminals), LLC (SSAT/ST), being a joint venture between SSA Marine, Matson and Terminal Investment, and The Northwest Seaport Alliance welcomed two ZPMC Super Post-Panamax cranes to the Seattle North Harbor, marking a significant milestone in Phase Two of the Terminal 5 Modernization Project.
The cranes concluded their journey through the Puget Sound after spending several weeks traveling from Shanghai to Seattle, and arrived in Elliott Bay on Friday 17th November, where the two new cranes are joining four existing Super Post-Panamax cranes that arrived at Terminal 5 back in 2021.
Standing 316 feet tall with a 240-foot outreach boom, each crane can handle vessels with containers stacked 10 high and 25 wide on deck, providing increased capacity and will be among the largest cranes along the west coast.
SSAT/ST is the owner and future operator of the cranes which will begin moving cargo at the beginning of 2024, as the company highlighted.
Sam Cho, Port of Seattle Commission president and NWSA co-chair, said that “The Northwest Seaport Alliance, alongside SSAT/ST, are committed to making strategic infrastructure investments that maintain our gateway’s competitiveness and supports living wage maritime jobs in the Puget Sound,” and he added that “The arrival of the new Super Post-Panamax cranes and completion of the South Berth expansion will enable two vessels to berth at Terminal 5 increasing cargo throughput that supports importers and exporters utilizing our gateway.”
Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, said that “SSAT/ST is proud to bring two new Super Post-Panamax cranes to Seattle’s Terminal 5,” and “We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Northwest Seaport Alliance to advance, and invest in, the modernization of Terminal 5’s capabilities to meet the growing needs of our customers.”
Tom Van Eynde, head of North America activities of Terminal Investment Limited, said that “This investment fits in TiL’s target to develop capacity in our key gateways for US trade. Terminal 5 is now not only the facility that can handle the biggest container vessels in the Puget Sound area, but it is also a terminal that is increasingly lowering its environmental footprint through investments such as these.”
Deanna Keller, Port of Tacoma Commission president and NWSA co-chair, said that “Terminal 5 is one of our gateway’s premier international container terminals,” and that “The Terminal 5 Modernization’s Phase One completion in 2021 added critical cargo capacity to our gateway and when Phase Two opens early next year, it will further expand our ability to move cargo and drive economic benefits across our local, state, and regional economy.”
