Port of Boston spends US$26 million to boost facilities

THE Port of Boston is spending US$26 million in upgrades, partly to facilitate shippers by improving the port's ability to load and unload multiple cargo vessels.

"We're trying to ensure Boston remains competitive, because this is a very competitive business and the ships can go elsewhere if they can get a better deal," Tom Kinton, chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, told The Associated Press.

Some of the work is already finished, including the reinforcement of concrete footings used by the giant lifts at the Conley Container Terminal. The rest is slated for completion by September.

The Conley terminal is getting a new pair of quayside cranes, bringing the total number of cranes to six, in order to load and unload two full-size container vessels simultaneously. A cargo-tracking system will enable truckers to use the Internet to see if their container has cleared customs and is ready to be dropped onto their trailer chassis, the report said.

Over at Conley, Massport is spending $15 million to import two used cranes from Oakland via the Panama Canal, to speed up container loading and unloading.
(Source:www.schednet.com)