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Container cranes

Image supplied courtesy of Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Container cranes are also called ship-to-shore gantry cranes. These cranes have a long horizontal arm that reaches out over the container ship. The crane rests on rails so that it can be moved up and down the wharf between the ship and the loading point. The job of the crane is to lift containers from the wharf onto the ship and from the ship onto the wharf. The crane has cables for lifting and moving the containers. At the end of the cables are spreaders with twist locks.  

The containers have fittings at each corner into which these twist locks. Once locked in, the container can be safely moved by the crane. These cranes are powered by either electricity or a powerful diesel engine.

Container cranes are very expensive so not all ports will have them. A good gang of stevedores can move more than 30 containers an hour.

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