Freight News, Sea

Port Freeport Adds Cranes to Velasco

[ October 10, 2025   //   Gary Burrows ]

Port Freeport took delivery of two super-post-Panamax, ship-to-shore gantry cranes on Sept. 22 at the port’s Velasco Container Terminal.

Transported fully erected about the heavy-lift vessel Zhen Hua 29, the cranes were carefully offloaded and secured to the docks. Following installation and testing this fall, the new equipment will be placed in service, dramatically expanding the port’s capacity for handling containers.

Rob Giesecke, chairman of the Port Freeport Commission, said the cranes ” will act as a catalyst for future growth, helping us attract new business, create more jobs, and increase operating revenues to keep Port Freeport at zero-tax.”

Towering more than 300 feet high and weighing more than 1,600 tons each, the cranes were designed by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (ZPMC) In Shanghai, China. The cranes feature the ability to reach across 22 containers wide with a lift above the dock of 178.8 feet. The advanced technology, they are designed to handle cargo with greater safety and efficiency one of the most significant equipment upgrades in Port Freeport’s history.

“The addition of the new super post-Panamax cranes at the expanded container terminal berths, combined with the substantial completion of the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project by year’s end, is a defining moment for the port,” said Phyllis Saathoff, executive director/CEO of Port Freeport.

Tags: Port Freeport, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Velasco Container Terminal