On Saturday morning, May 13, three gantry cranes will enter Prince Rupert Harbour aboard the heavy load carrier ship Zhen Hua 25.
A team of BC Coast Marine Pilots will be aboard the ship to guide its approach.
It will be escorted by tugs from SAAM SMIT Towage which will help the ship execute a slow turn before berthing at Fairview Container Terminal.
The Port Authority patrol boat M.V. Charles Hays will accompany the Zhen Hua 25 from the Kinahan Islands to ensure that any nearby watercraft maintain a safety perimeter of at least one nautical mile from the 50,000-tonne vessel.
The offloading process is expected to take several days.
The three Malacca-max dock gantry cranes further enhance Prince Rupert’s reputation as “big ship ready.” Each crane is equipped with a horizontal reach of 25 containers and is capable of working the largest vessels in the world.
When the expansion project is complete, the capacity of Fairview Terminal will increase by half-a-million TEUs, boosting its total capacity from 850,000 to 1.35 million TEUs.
Images and updates depicting the cranes’ arrival will be shared in real-time via the Port’s social media channels: facebook.com/rupertport and twitter.com/rupertport.
ABOUT THE PORT OF PRINCE RUPERT’S FAIRVIEW CONTAINER TERMINAL:
Fairview Container Terminal is located in Prince Rupert, on the West Coast of British Columbia. Operated by DP World (Canada) Inc., it was the first dedicated intermodal (ship-to-rail) container terminal in North America when it began operation in 2007, and has grown to become a major trans-Pacific trade gateway reputable for its speed and reliability.
The expanded terminal will include a second deep-water berth, three additional gantry cranes, and land reclamation to expand the container yard. On-dock rail capacity will also be expanded by densifying the current track configuration, which will be supported by a rubber-tired gantry crane operation.