Guam cranes to arrive mid-February

Three gantry cranes headed for the commercial port of Guam are expected to arrive in mid-February and be operational by April 1.

   Jones Act carriers Horizon Lines and Matson Navigation, which deliver a combined 80 percent of the containerized goods to the Pacific island nation, purchased the used cranes from the Port of Los Angeles last year.

   Following several legal challenges over the cranes that have since been resolved, the three used cranes departed Los Angeles Harbor on Jan. 11.

   The carriers donated the cranes to the port after several failed attempts by the Guam port authority’s to obtain new cranes. Horizon and Matson spent $12 million to $15 million to purchase, refurbish and install the three cranes at the Guam port.

   Matson said it plans to start collecting a $125 per container surcharge in March to recoup the costs of the cranes. Horizon has not announced any Guam charges related to the cranes.

   The Port Authority of Guam has operated two nearly 30-year-old gantry cranes. The two ocean carriers believe there will be a critical need for new cranes when the U.S. military begins shifting its operations on Okinawa, Japan to Guam in July 2010.

Source: American Shipper