Massport: Making Smart Investments to Handle Larger Vessels

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) received two new rubber-tired gantries (RTGs) last week, increasing the number of RTGs at the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal to 16.

According to the company, adding equipment is part of an $850 million investment to keep Conley Terminal competitive and efficient with truck turntimes averaging under 35 minutes.

“After our infrastructure buildout is complete, we should be efficiently handling vessels in the 12,000-14,000 TEU range,” said Acting Port Director Mike Meyran.

“These improvements support the demands of the region’s robust economy. We’ve had a 37% increase in port productivity, thanks to our long-standing relationship with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and we’ve seen our customer base increase over 50% to 2,500 businesses. We are making smart investments to handle larger ships and attract new direct services to enhance our global network offering for New England-based customers.”

Another major infrastructure project initiated in the last several years is the Boston Harbor Dredging Project.

The deepening of the main ship channels will be completed by the end of 2021.

The $350 million project is a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Massport. The project is approximately 64% complete, with over 7.4 million cubic yards removed to date.

In 2020, work on a new 50-foot deep berth is expected to be completed.

The $215 million modernization project includes 3 new ship-to-shore cranes. They will be 205 feet high and 160 feet high from the rail, with an outreach of 22 rows wide, capable of handling 12,000-14,000 TEU ships.

These cranes are specially designed to avoid air draft restrictions due to nearby Boston Logan International Airport. Terminal improvements totaling $103 million (including a new in-gate processing area and a new reefer rack system) are also taking place, and 90% of these projects are underway.

Landside improvements were made possible with the help of a $42 million FASTLANE grant.