Making Boston big ship ready

Three new low profile Neo-Panamax cranes have begun their journey to Boston on a ship from Shanghai, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) said in their latest release.

The cranes will arrive at Conley Terminal this summer and will be operational this fall.

These cranes, along with a new berth and a deepened Boston Harbor, enable Boston to handle larger ships, more New England importers and exporters to connect with the global marketplace, and facilitate future growth at Conley Terminal, said Massport.

Nearly $850M in investment has gone into the Port in recent years to prepare Conley Terminal to be big ship ready in order to support the regional economy.

Significant support came from the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, the Baker-Polito Administration, and the Massachusetts Legislature.

Also, the Boston Harbor Dredging Project is nearing completion and a new 50-foot deep berth was built to support the new cranes.

The new Berth 10 is 1,250 feet long and dredged to 50 feet so the new cranes can efficiently service larger container ships. Currently, Conley is designed for 5,000 TEU ships, and can handle ships up to 10,000 TEUs under certain conditions.

“The investments we’re making will significantly enhance our capabilities to handle more cargo and increase our productivity so that Conley can be competitive in the future and allow for continued growth,” said Massport Port Director, Mike Meyran.

“We want businesses to know that we are ‘Big Ship Ready’ and we want to attract new direct services to expand the global offerings for our customers throughout New England.”

With the new cranes and berth, Boston will be in a position to offer some relief to an already stressed industry, and allow more New England businesses to take advantage of the local service, Massport said.