Giant cranes headed to Tacoma will be easy to see. Port wants your photos of them
New cranes are making their way to the Port of Tacoma, and you can be part of the action when it comes to tracking.
Similar to last year’s shipment, a new load of container cranes are headed to Commencement Bay aboard the Zhen Hua 31, with an expected arrival late afternoon or early evening on Tuesday (March 5).
The super-post-Panamax cranes are the final four of eight cranes to make Husky Terminal (Pier 4) capable of handling two, 18,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) vessels.
At 295 feet tall, the cranes won’t be hard to see. When the booms are at their tallest position, they will stand 434 feet above a ship’s deck.
The cranes departed China in late January “and have voyaged around some fairly large storms to get here,” according to Katie Whittier, the port’s communications director.
“Timing wise, the cranes will be anchored off Port Angeles at 8 a.m. Tuesday and start their way through the Sound shortly thereafter. The vessel travels at 6 knots, so it will likely take 9 hours to make its way to Commencement Bay,” Whittier told The News Tribune via email.
“They’ll likely anchor in Commencement Bay overnight then be brought into the Blair Waterway later” in the week, said Whittier.
You can follow the port’s Facebook and Twitter social media feeds for travel updates.
Also, the port is encouraging people to submit photos of the ship and its cranes from different vantage points. A crowd-sourced map to submit photos is at https://arcg.is/11ym1H.
A map showing submitted photos from last year’s vantage points is at https://arcg.is/1iGWTD
