FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Port Everglades welcomed three more large modern container cranes on Tuesday as part of a plan to improve productivity.
Jonathan Daniels, the chief executive and port director since 2020, said the efficiency standards require a higher capacity.
The port’s new ship-to-shore container cranes are part of the plan’s improvement project to meet the “super post-Panamax” standards.
“They are 175 feet high; the old cranes are 151. I think the biggest issue is the fact that they can go 22 containers wide. Those are some of the largest container ships that they have out there,” Daniels said.
The port’s first three $41.4 million gantry cranes arrived in 2021. Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. manufactured them in China. Daniels said these are still “working beautifully.”
Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine was at the welcoming ceremony on Tuesday and said the crane improvements will make an impact since the port is one of South Florida’s largest economic engines.
“It’s great for jobs. It’s great for economic development,” Udine said.
The port ranks at the top in the state’s perishables market and it is the 11th busiest container port in the United States. The port’s cargo, petroleum, and cruise businesses generate more than $32 billion in economic activity annually and support nearly 220,000 jobs statewide, according to the county’s estimates.
“We want to make sure that the cargo that is destined for the Southeast ends up in Florida,” Daniels said.
The three new cranes will be fully operational in February, according to Daniels.