Importance of a Crane
International container shipping by sea would not be possible if not for the usage of a crane at the port. Essentially, the crane is responsible for loading and unloading the containers to and from the ocean vessel. In order to use the crane at the port, the operator must be fully trained on procedurs in order to use it. All shippers should understand the importance of the crane at the port.
Recently, Port Freeport in Texas just imported 2 cranes from China. The cranes are considered to be Post Panamax, with each one capable of lifting up to 75 tons. Post Panamax is a type of crane that can be used for vessels that at 18 containers wide. With the upcoming Panama Canal expansion, larger ocean ships will be about to hold more containers as they can now pass through the Panama Canal and to the US. That means that ports, like Port Freeport, want to be in the position of getting the business from these larger vessels. The cranes will be a way to grow productivity at the port. And other ports across the US are also getting Post Panamax cranes; especially since the older Panamac cranes can only be used on the vessels that are about 12 containers wide. There is also a Super Post Panamax crane that is used for vessels that are 22 containers wide. Thus in the logistics industry, cranes play a big part and will continue to be important.